The Karnataka Government has said that ArcelorMittal is willing to offer stake in its Rs 30,000-crore steel project to farmers whose land will be acquired for the project.

The State Large and Medium Industry Minister, Mr Murugesh Nirani, said that the value of the total stake in the project, which is expected to come up near Bellary, may not exceed Rs 300 crore.

“It will be less than the total size of the project and, hence, may not make much difference to the farmers,” he said.

He said the farmers will, however, be given adequate compensation apart from at least one job in the project for each family.

“We will not short-change the farmers in any way,” Mr Nirani said.

Earlier, talking to newspersons, the Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr B.S. Yeddyurappa, said that the investors’ interest in the two-day Global Investors Meet, which will kick off on Friday, has been overwhelming.

“It has been beyond our expectations,” he said.

He said he expected Karnataka to climb one position to third in terms of the total number of investments for a State. The State expects Rs 4,00,000 crore worth of investments to pour into the State during the meet.

Posco keen

The Principal Secretary, Industry and Commerce, Mr V.P. Baligar, said Posco Steel had again showed interest in setting up a plant in Karnataka. “We are trying to see how we can accommodate them during the Global Investors Meet,” he said.

He said most of the projects will be set up in north Karnataka because of availability of land as well as water.

“We have set forth conditions for the use of water for projects and there will be a team which will monitor the usage of water by the promoter companies,” Mr Baligar said.

The leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mr Arun Jaitley, will inaugurate the Global Investors’ Meet tomorrow.

The ArcelorMittal Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Lakshmi N. Mittal; the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla; the Wipro Chairman, Mr Azim Premji; the Infosys Chairman, Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan; the TVS Motor Company Chairman, Mr Venu Srinivasan; the UB Group Chairman, Mr Vijay Mallya; the Essar Group Chairman, Mr Shashi Ruia; and the JSW Steels’ Managing Director, Mr Sajjan Jindal, will attend the inaugural ceremony.

Investors’ interest high

The CII Karnataka Chapter President, Mr Aroon Raman, said that the investors’ interest to set up projects in Karnataka is very high.

“Very big changes have happened since the last Global Investors’ Meet in terms of economic development in the country. The investors are extremely keen this time,” Mr Raman said.

Mr Raman said even if 60 per cent of the targeted Rs 4,00,000 crore investment comes into Karnataka, it will be good enough. He said post-GIM, the CII will actively work with the Government in trying to fast forward the projects cleared during the meet.

He said the Government is trying to eliminate procedural delays for clearing the projects so that they become a reality soon. He said 50,000 acres has been identified and notified while the rest is under notification. The Government has also agreed to transfer the land to the promoters as soon as the projects become operational.

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