Karnataka has asked the Centre to grant necessary clearance for Posco, Arcelor Mittal, Surya Roshini, Bhusan Steel, Jindal South West (JSW) and Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) which are setting up steel plants in the State.
According to the Karnataka Industries Minister, Mr Murugesh Nirani, the State Government has cleared all the six projects but are now awaiting Centre's nod for environmental clearance. For setting up steel mills, few companies such as Arcelor Mittal have also sought land for captive mining.
“These companies have already deposited money with us for their land requirement. At a few places, Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has already initiated the work on land acquisition,” he added.
Land details
Land for some of these companies have been identified and deputy commissioners have been told to hold final meeting with revenue officials and hold meets to fix price for the land in consultation with the farmers.
Posco has sought around 4,000 acres and has identified Gadag district for setting up their plant. Land acquisition for Arcelor Mittal has entered final notification stage. The company has identified land around Bellary/Koppal districts and has deposited Rs 600 crore for land acquisition and its estimated requirement is about 4,000 hectares.
Surya Roshini is setting up a plant in Bagalkot and has sought 3,000 acres. Bhushan Steel which needs around 3,000 acres has selected Bagalkot and Koppal for its steel plant. The company plans to take a final decision based on the land availability.
expansion
JSW is planning to invest around Rs 25,000 crore in expanding the capacity of its Bellary plant while KIOCL has partnered with NMDC for setting up a steel plant. NMDC is likely to transfer its iron ore mines located at Donimalai in Bellary to KIOCL for mining activities.