On Sunday, M B Patil, the Minister of Large and Medium Industries for Karnataka, declared that the decision made by the state government to execute the sale deed of 3,666 acres of property in the Ballari district to Jindal Steel is not abnormal.
He highlighted that in response to a High Court order on March 12, 2024, the Cabinet has chosen to carry out the May 6, 2021, order, which was given during the B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government.
The Karnataka Cabinet approved the execution of an absolute sale deed on Thursday for 1,666.73 acres of property at Toranagallu, Musinayakanahalli, and Yerabanahalli, and 2,000.58 acres of land in Kurekuppa and Toranagallu villages in Sandur taluk, in favour of JSW Steel.
1,666.73 acres at Rs 1.50 lakh per acre and 2,000.58 acres at Rs 1.22 lakh per acre would go to JSW Steel.
Aravind Bellad, the deputy leader of the opposition in the legislative assembly, accused Patil of a “internal agreement” in the case, which Patil rejected as unfounded.
He said, “If there has been any internal agreement, it must be with his own party (BJP),” according to a minister’s office statement.
The minister stated that Jindal Steel had gone to the High Court, citing non-implementation of the Yediyurappa administration’s decree. The court then ordered that the order be obeyed, and as a result, the present government has made the decision.
He added that Jindal Steel has invested Rs 90,000 crore in the state, resulting in the creation of 50,000 jobs, and he warned that investors would be misled if the lease-cum-sale agreement was not executed, even after adhering to the government’s requirements.
“Unlike the BJP, which gave concessions to Chanakya University, our government has not given any to Jindal Steel,” the minister asserted, adding that the land price for Jindal Steel was set according to the market value that was in place 20 years prior.
Patil added, “Chandakya University received 116 acres of land from the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) at a substantial concession from the previous BJP government. The exchequer suffers a loss of Rs 137 crore because the land’s true value is Rs 187 crore. Furthermore, KIADB has not yet received this cash.”
Why Aravind Bellad said nothing about this, he wondered.
There has already been criticism around the land deal with JSW.
During Dharam Singh’s tenure as chief minister in 2005, the Cabinet approved the lease-cum-sale agreement of 2,000.58 acres to JSW.
The JD(S)-BJP coalition government, which took office when Kumaraswamy was appointed chief minister and B S Yeddyurappa was appointed industries minister, issued an order on this matter.
An additional 1,666 acres were granted in 2007.
In 2019, the Congress-JD(S) coalition government convened a Cabinet subcommittee to review the sale proposal since it had caused controversy when it decided to sell the about 3,667 acres of land leased to JSW Steel in Ballari instead of returning it to a lease, as per the original arrangement.
When the BJP was in opposition, they staged a two-day, nonstop sit-in, accusing the Congress-JD(S) coalition government of selling the land to the firm at a pittance (Rs 1.22 -1.50 lakh per acre). Even the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition was accused by its leaders of accepting “kickbacks” for the selling of land.
After Yediyurappa was elected chief minister in November 2020, the BJP appointed a second Cabinet subcommittee to investigate the land deal.
The Cabinet then decided to sell the land to JSW Steel in April 2021, but resistance forced another postponement of the decision.