Free land tempted Hero MotoCorp to opt for Andhra Pradesh, says Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
"There is no question of laxity on our part in accepting the proposal of the Hero MotoCorp,” the Chief Minister, who holds the Industry and Commerce portfolio, told reporters in the State Secretariat.
“Our government offered maximum concessions in the form of tax holidays, excise duty exemption, concessions in entry tax, and interest-free loan of Central Sales Tax (CST) to the company. But we could not give free land because other companies will also ask for it. We cannot compete with the newly carved State,” he explained.
The company proposal was cleared by the SHLCC early this year and the Cabinet sub-committee had cleared a host of incentives recently. The company had proposed to invest ₹1,115 crore and the State government offered 500 acres of land on lease for 99 years. The cost per acre of land was ₹32 lakh at Mammigatti industrial area in Dharwad.
The Chief Minister said Hero MotoCorp was offered less incentives compared to Honda Motor Cycles and Scooters Ltd, which had its plant at Narasapura in Kolar. Honda Motor Cycles and Scooters Ltd purchased 97 acres by paying ₹47 lakh per acre in 2011.
While Hero MotoCorp agreed to offer 70 per cent of jobs to locals, Honda Motor Cycles and Scooters Ltd provided 80 per cent of jobs to locals.
He noted that Karnataka and Bangalore are destinations for investors from across the world as the city has skilled manpower and good law and order.