State to push for two defence corridors during Rajnath meet
Govt eyeing Kolar–Chikkaballapura & Hubballi–Belagavi regions
PTI
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The Chief Minister is scheduled to meet Singh in the national capital on Wednesday evening.
Bengaluru, 8 July
Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium
Industries MB Patil on Tuesday said he, along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah,
would meet Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi to request the
sanctioning of two defence corridor projects for the State. The Chief Minister
is scheduled to meet Singh in the national capital on Wednesday evening.
“As the country’s leading contributor to
the aerospace and defence sector, Karnataka deserves two defence corridors—one
in the Kolar–Chikkaballapura region and the other in the Hubballi–Belagavi
belt. We will present this request during our meeting with Rajnath Singh,”
Patil said.
Speaking to reporters, he said there was a
need for one corridor each in South and North Karnataka, pointing out that
leading companies such as Aequs already operate in Belagavi.
Noting that the State should have been
granted a defence corridor when Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh were allotted
theirs, Patil said even the Central government had realised this oversight, and
Rajnath Singh himself had acknowledged it.
“We are not against projects being sanctioned
for other states. We are only demanding what Karnataka rightfully deserves,” he
said.
“The State is home to major players such as
HAL, Safran, Boeing, Airbus, Collins, and Lockheed Martin. We already have an
aerospace park near the Devanahalli airport. To further strengthen our
position, the government now proposes another aerospace and defence park
nearby. Farmers who lose their land will be compensated under the Land
Acquisition Act, 2013,” he said.
This move comes as farmers have been
protesting against the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board’s (KIADB)
notification for acquiring fertile land in Devanahalli for the proposed park.
In response to actor Prakash Raj’s
opposition to the project, Patil highlighted land acquisition projects in
neighbouring state saying, “Does Prakash Raj not see these developments?”
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