Mysore losing industrial sites to realtors

Mysore, Jun 29 (UNI) At a time when Mysore city was witnessing a boom in the tourism sector, there was hardly any room for the industrial sector to showcase its 'economical prowess' in the city in the near future.

Though one may relate the present scenario to inflation and recession in US economy and dismiss it as a ''temporary phenomenon,'' the fact remained that no single investor, who was allotted sizable land in and around Mysore three years ago, had opened any industrial units on their allotted site.

Official sources at the District Industries Centre has told UNI that the Karnataka Single Window Clearance Committee and Land Audit Committee cleared 23 projects for Hebbal Second Stage in 2005. The area allotted for setting up software units was roughtly 120 acre, but not a single unit had been set up so far on the land sanctioned by the state government and no additional jobs had been created.

However, the land was being viewed as a 'potential investment' in real estate because it could be sold at market prices to the highest bidder, given the projected growth of Mysore and the premium on land.

According to Mysore Industries Association General Secretary Suresh Kumar Jain, the association received many calls from new land owners, asking for a quotation of the prevaling land rates in the open market. This clearly indicated that the land was purchased with the intention disposing them off at a higher rate and not for establishing factories.

Of the 23 projects cleared in 2005, 18 pertained to software industries and related fields, and five to pharmaceuticals and electronics.

Mysore was projected as an alternative destination to Bangalore, where skyrocketing real estate prices make business operations an expensive proposition, in addition, the crumbling infrastrcture of Bangalore coupled with traffic bottlenecks had forced many investors to scout for land outside the city, the sources added.

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