The Union government will hand over 3,200 acres of land, belonging to the defunct Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML), in Kolar to the Karnataka government for developing an industrial park, if no minerals are found during a survey to be conducted over the next six months, said Union Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday.

Mr. Joshi said that he had requested the State government to conduct a physical survey within three months.

The Centre, through Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd., will identify areas that have not been explored for natural minerals within six months.

After the survey, if the land parcel does not possess any natural resources, then the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) would obtain the land from the Ministry of Mines with necessary approvals to set up the park.

The land is strategically located 90 km from the Bengaluru airport, 260 km from the Chennai Port, and 314 km from the Krishnapatnam Port, Mr Joshi said.

If any gold, palladium or tungsten are found during the survey, the State government will auction it and get royalty, Mr. Joshi said.

Major and Medium Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar said the department had given a proposal seeking 3,200 acres of BGML for developing the park. “We held talks with Mr. Joshi to obtain the unused land at BGML for the park,” Mr. Shettar said.

The State has been pursuing the Centre to use the unencumbered land of the BGML to develop a second industrial node on the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. BGML, which operated the Kolar Gold Fields (KFG) and was closed in 2001, has about 12,000 acres of land.

Mr. Shettar said even during the COVID-19 pandemic, companies had evinced interest to invest ₹31,676.57 crore in various sectors of the State economy. This would generate over 65,000 jobs, he added.