Cabinet sub-committee to review decision on Sandur taluk's land sale to JSW Steel

Bengaluru: Giving in to political pressure from within the Congress and the Opposition BJP, the state government on Wednesday notified a four-member Cabinet sub-committee to re-examine the propriety of the May 27 Cabinet decision on the sale of land to JSW Steel in Sandur taluk of Ballari district.

Home minister MB Patil will chair the committee, which will also have cooperation minister Bandeppa Kashempur, rural development minister Krishna Byre Gowda and social welfare minister Priyank Kharge. The Cabinet has referred the subject to the sub-committee with a mandate that it should go through the issue thoroughly and give its recommendation.

“The Cabinet wants us to re-examine the decision. We will look into the objections raised and go to the bottom of the issue and submit our report early,” Kashempur told ET

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The Cabinet had, on May 27, decided to execute the absolute sale deed for 3,667 acres of land in Sandur taluk on the grounds that the firm had fulfilled all conditions under the earlier industrial policy.

The Mumbai-headquartered JSW Group operates a 12 million tonne per annum (MTPA) steel plant on the campus under a lease-cum-sale agreement.

Since the Cabinet decision, the steel mill, controlled by billionaire Sajjan Jindal, has been at the centre of a political crossfire between the JD(S)-Congress coalition regime and the BJP. The decision was first opposed by former Congress minister and MLA HK Patil, which set off a series of reactions and protests, much to the discomfort of the JSW Group and the ruling coalition. Another Congress MLA Anand Singh (Vijayanagara), along with former Congress MLA Anil Lad, too opposed the Cabinet decision.

The Opposition BJP, led by the party’s state president BS Yeddyurappa, ratcheted up the issue with overnight dharna and protest demonstrations for three days to bring pressure on chief minister HD Kumaraswamy to drop the decision. The party alleged kickbacks even after the government relented a bit and agreed to review its decision through a Cabinet sub-committee.

The state government allotted the land to the steel mill in two instalments of 2,000 acres in 2006 and 1,666 acres in 2007 at Toranagallu in Sandur taluk. The company says it has invested about ₹50,000 crore to build the steel facility, ancillary units, township and other infrastructure, and provided jobs to 25,000 people.

In an earlier chat with the ET, JSW Steel deputy MD Vinod Nowal had described the opposition as “political” in nature. “We signed the MoU with Karnataka in 1995, paid the price for the land as fixed by the government and provided jobs to those who lost land. We have fulfilled all conditions and the sale transaction was delayed because of elections.”