Deputy Leader of the Opposition Arvind Bellad has urged the government to retract 58 acres of land allotted to IT giant Infosys in Hubballi, citing the company's failure to generate employment opportunities. Bellad, representing the Hubli-Dharwad (West) constituency, raised concerns during a discussion on job creation for locals in industrial establishments on Tuesday, February 13.
According to Bellad, Infosys, despite acquiring 58 acres of land, has not contributed to a single job in the region. "There's an industrial estate in my constituency, where Infosys was allotted the land. They've not created a single job. Instead, they've done gardening and landscaping," Bellad said. The issue extends beyond Infosys, as Bellad pointed out the absence of job opportunities for locals at the Hubballi airport, managed by the Airports Authority of India.
Bellad revealed that Infosys acquired land worth Rs 1.5 crore per acre for a mere Rs 35 lakh. "I requested farmers to part with their lands saying their children would get jobs. Today, I can't see them in the eye. I convinced them to withdraw their court case also. There must be some penalty," he said. The company was allocated the land adjacent to the airport in 2015. Subsequently, it invested approximately Rs 350 crore to develop a large office campus capable of accommodating up to 1,500 professionals. The campus became operational in 2018.
Responding to Bellad's concerns, Industries Minister MB Patil assured that appropriate action would be taken. He hinted at the formulation of a policy outlining penalties for industries failing to fulfil job creation obligations and warned of stringent actions, including the possibility of withdrawal of incentives and land, against companies failing to adhere to these regulations.
"Under the Industrial Policy 2020-25, companies receiving incentives from the government must provide 100% Group D jobs and an overall 70% jobs to Kannadigas. Be it Infosys or any company, if people who lost land aren't given jobs based on their educational qualification, we can withdraw incentives. We can also withdraw the land in stringent action," Patil said.