Karnataka govt firm on selling Ballari land to JSW Steel

BENGALURU: The cabinet on Thursday decided not to withdraw its decision on sale of land to steel giant JSW Steel in Ballari despite Congress senior MLA H K Patil’s stiff opposition and the BJP threatening to sit on a three-day protest. 

Though the subject was not on the agenda, the cabinet discussed the lease-cum-sale deal to JSW informally at the meeting headed by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy. 

In the previous cabinet meeting, sale of more than 3,500 acres of land at Rs 90,000/ acre, later revised to Rs 1.50 lakh/acre, to JSW as part of a decade-old lease-cum-sale deal was approved. 

While the cabinet has maintained that the process of selling land was merely the execution of the agreement drawn in 2006, Patil’s opposition to giving away land at ‘throwaway prices’ had left the 
Congress embarrassed at dissent from within. 

The cabinet agreed that the decision, if any, to reconsider the sale of land will lie entirely with Industries Minister KJ George. Interestingly, George wasn’t present at Thursday’s cabinet meeting owing to a prior engagement in New Delhi. 

“The government has no role to play in the deal. The sale of land is mere execution of lease-cum-sale deal which was agreed upon,” said Krishna Byre Gowda, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, while briefing the media after the cabinet meet.  

Addressing the concerns of gazetted probationary officers appointed post 1998 on the Karnataka Civil Services (Protection of Service of Persons appointed in pursuance to final selection list Published by Selection authority) Ordinance 2019, the cabinet has asked Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar to take necessary measures to ensure that their promotions or welfare is not affected by the ordinance. The cabinet has approved smart card vending for RO water units across the state.

To ensure better maintenance of drinking water units across the state, the cabinet has approved allowing taluk-wise tender packages that could either be maintained by the gram panchayats or outsourced to private agencies. The cabinet has also taken a decision to introduce counselling-based transfers of group C and D employees of the state government. “Counselling-based transfers will ensure equal distribution of workforce district-wise in all current vacant positions,” said minister Krishna Byre Gowda.