Minister Patil hits out at Kerala move to woo Bengaluru-based industries

Bengaluru: Hitting out at Kerala Industries Minister’s attempt to take undue advantage of the water scarcity situation, Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Industries Minister MB Patil said that such an attempt is contrary to the federal system of principles.

In a statement by MB Patil on Sunday, referring to reports on the Kerala Industries Minister’s offer for Bengaluru-based companies, he opined that such attempts are detrimental to the federal structure of the country.

Many parts of India including Kerala have been reeling under water scarcity due to drought and severe summer. In such a situation, the offer extended by the Kerala Industry Minister for the Bengaluru-based companies to shift their workspaces to that state does not depict the healthy competitive spirit, he criticised.

As a nation, we are in a federal system where a ‘give and take” approach between the states is essential. No state should attempt to take advantage of the undue situations and this would not do good to any of the states, Patil added

“Though there has been water shortage, it is not precarious in regions where IT companies are located in Bengaluru. Moreover, the minister should also remember that the companies here have provided jobs to thousands of people hailing from his native state Kerala,” he remarked.

As a state, Kerala has all the liberty to make efforts to attract investments. However, it should not resort to petty politics, he slammed.

Karnataka has developed an industry-friendly ecosystem over the years owing to its pro-active policies and has been a top-ranked state in IT and export revenues in the entire country. In the last twenty-five years, Karnataka has emerged as a new Economic force. But, Kerala which has been unable to show such performance, now contemplating on taking undue advantage of the water scarcity situation seems to be harmful, he pointed out.

While wooing industries the Kerala minister has mentioned that the state has 40 rivers. He should be aware of the fact that rivers alone can not create an industry-friendly system. How many dams does Kerala have? What is the current quantum of available water?- The minister should not forget to answer such questions, he said.

Minister MB Patil also emphasised that the state government has been working on facilitating a dedicated system to provide river-sourced water from nearby places for industrial areas and has held several meetings about facilitating Cauvery water for industrial areas in Bengaluru.

Likewise, tenders have been called for providing Alamatti water to the Mulawada Industrial Area in Vijayapura and Malaprabha water to the Dharawada, Kitturu and Durgadakeri industrial areas, he informed.