Karnataka Minister Defends Selling Land to Jindal Steel: ‘Everything Was Legal and Fair

Karnataka’s Large and Medium Industries Minister, MB Patil, has defended the state’s decision to sell 3,677 acres of land in Ballari to Jindal Steel Company. He emphasized that the transaction was completely legal, following a government order issued after a court directive and a cabinet decision.

Patil pointed out that Karnataka faces strong competition in the industrial sector from states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, where free land is often offered to attract businesses.

Speaking to the media, Patil clarified, “We haven’t given Jindal any special concessions. The company paid the market price, and all regulations were followed, just like for the other one lakh industries in Karnataka.”

He mentioned that the issue had been unnecessarily dragged on for almost nine years.

Looking ahead, Patil announced plans for a global investor conference in Bengaluru in six months. He highlighted Jindal’s significant investment of ₹90,000 crore in Karnataka, creating 50,000 jobs. “We must not send the wrong message to potential investors,” he said.

Patil explained that according to Karnataka’s industrial policy, companies given land by the government must use at least 51% of it within ten years and keep their operations running. Jindal has met all these requirements.

He also expressed confusion over why some people had opposed the land deal with Jindal in the past. Patil noted that there were no protests from the Congress against Jindal earlier; the objections were only against Janardhana Reddy.

In response to a question, Patil confirmed that no mining is happening on the land that is being sold to Jindal.