Peenya fiasco may have some better news soon

BANGALORE: Industrialists caught up in the Peenya industrial area expansion fiasco can expect ‘better news’ by the end of December, according to S Maheshwar Rao, Commissioner of Industrial Development.Interacting with the members of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), Rao addressed concerns raised by the forum on the registration refund issue. M C Dinesh, chairman of the MSE Committee of the chamber, sought clarifications as to why registration was going to be refunded, as it ‘beat the purpose’ of registering in the first place.Rao said the issue was being looked into and it would be resolved at the earliest.Dinesh also said that industrialists had registered over a year ago and were paying to banks, even though their projects had not kicked off due to the absence of allotments. Rao said that the earlier system of allotment was being reviewed and ‘better news’ could be expected by the end of December. Two new estates were planned, one in Ganapathy Halli and the other in Nelamangala, where industrialists registered over a month ago, but no allotments of land had been made so far.Also speaking about the foundry cluster near Dobbaspet, Rao said the department would soon try and get environmental clearance for the same was being sought as it lay in the catchment area of Arkavathi basin. “Closure is imminent”, he assured and sought recommendations from such chambers to address their concerns more efficiently.Reiterating the issues of land banks, Rao said many thousand acres were being pursued and the State was toying with the idea of voluntary land banks.He said market rate compensation had led many farmers to offer their land for industries.