Industrialists shy away from backward Chamarajanagar

Chamarajanagar: The efforts of the State government over the years to attract investors to set up industries Chamarajanagar, one of the most backward districts in Karnataka, have failed to bear any fruits. Industrial activity would have led to creation of employment opportunities for local youths and concomitant overall development of the district which has very fewer industries than others in the State.

Though the State government has set up a 1520-acre industrial park in the border district to boost industrial activities and employment, no investor of worth the name came here. In 2014, the government bought the land at Rs 20 lakh for each acre at Badanaguppe and Kellamballi villages and the then chief minister Siddaramaiah had even organised a road show in

Coimbatore to woo industrialists from Tamil Nadu to invest in the district. Siddaramaiah had inaugurated the industrial estate in June 2015. But the reason for industrialists shying away from setting shop in the area is unavailability of sufficient power and water.

Though the government later provided sufficient water from Kabini river, industrialists did not show much interest in investing here. Only 30-40 percent of the total 1,520 acres is being used by small scale industries. The remaining land has been lying vacant for years.

Many industrialists and companies have been allotted land but they have not used it for the purpose for which it has been given to them for reasons known only to them.

Speaking to The Hans India, on Friday, Chamarajanagar district small industrialists association president A Jayasimha said that though government provided water from Kabini, it is not enough to meet the needs of industrial units as the authorities have laid insufficient pipelines.

He said the association has submitted a memorandum to the then industries minister Jagadish Shettar to solve the problem but to no avail. According to him, there is good potential to set up biotech and food processing industries in the area and the authorities should convert State highway up to 12 km from Santhemaralli to Muguru cross connecting NH 766 to NH 209. It should also extend subsidies, waiver of GST, other taxes and PF requirement for five years to attract industrialists. Without these incentives, no industrialist will come forward, he said and added that if the entire land in industrial park was utilised, the district can erase the name of backward district in no time.