Machine tool park planned in Tumakuru

Bengaluru: The state Cabinet on Wednesday approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to establish the country’s first integrated machine tool industry park (IMTP) near Tumkuru. It  also okayed the expansion of the Chennai-Bengaluru industrial corridor (CBIC) from Bengaluru to Chitradurga to give a boost to industry.

Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting, law and parliamentary affairs minister, T. B. Jayachandra said the IMTP was the brainchild of the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA), an apex body of machine tool-makers. “The state cabinet decided to float the SPV to execute this project flawlessly and expeditiously. The Union government has already released Rs 125 crore towards it.  The IMTP has a potential to generate employment for 4000 once the first phase is completed,” the minister explained.

A senior official of the industries department disclosed that the park would comprise a cluster of machine tool builders and makers of accessories and components and have common facilities like an effluent treatment plant, a testing lab and R and D centre.

"It will typically help small and medium scale enterprises expand their manufacturing capacities. The IMTMA plans to set up the park on a 300-acre plot near Tumkuru with a provision to scale it up to 500 acres,” said an officer.

In another major decision, the cabinet approved  release of  Rs 191.68 crore for acquisition of land to establish an industrial corridor between Bengaluru and Chitradurga and another Rs 229.32 crore to establish infrastructure alongside it.

Sources in the industries department said the  Chennai-Bengaluru-Chitradurga corridor would have an influence area (IA) spread across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

State does Centre’s job, gives small & medium towns Rs 800 crore
Launching a veiled attack on the Union government for not releasing Rs 800 crore to improve infrastructure in small and medium towns for more than a decade, law minister, T. B. Jayachadra announced that the cabinet has sanctioned Rs 836.98 crores to all small and medium towns.

He told the media after a meeting of the cabinet here: "Since 2005-06, the state government had been seeking Union government's help for release of funds under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Urban infrastructure Development Scheme for Small & Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) which aims at improving urban infrastructure in towns and cities. The state has not received funds so far under any of these schemes, but the state government has given green signal to take up few infrastructure development projects in  these small and medium towns. Therefore, the government has given its approval to release funds in the next two financial years."

In addition, the  government decided to direct the municipal administration department and urban development department to earmark at least 25 per cent of their total cess collected to be passed on to Lake Development Authority in order to improve conditions of tanks and lakes in municipalities, city corporations and urban local bodies.

Apart from this, the minister said the  government decided not to give 70 bed government hospital in Udupi along with two vacant plotsl on lease for a period of 30 years to Abu Dhabi based businessman, B. R. Shetty, group to build 400 bed super speciality hospital.