Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said that the required amendments to laws for facilitating establishment of special investment zones (SIZ) at Dharwad and Tumakuru will be tabled in the forthcoming Legislature session.
He was speaking after laying the foundation stone for the new building of the Karnataka Material Testing and Research Centre (KMTRC) at the Gokul Industrial Estate in Hubballi on Saturday.
The Chief Minister said that although the government had initiated steps to set up the SIZ, it required some amendments to the existing laws and the same would be tabled during the forthcoming session.
Mr. Bommai said that already an requisite order, providing additional incentives to set up a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) cluster at Dharwad, had been issued and the cluster would play a crucial role in the overall development of the region.
The Chief Minister said that in the future the towns and the cities of North Karnataka would emerge as industrial towns.
“If quality is ensured for industrial products, the demand and market will automatically be created,” he said.
He also gave a call to industrialists from the region to actively participate in the global investors’ meet to be held on November 2 and 3 in Bengaluru, and also start thinking big instead of just continuing in their small businesses.
Expressing happiness over the centre getting the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories accreditation, Mr. Bommai said that the government would consider the KMTRC proposal for a grant of ₹4 crore for the procurement of advanced equipment.
Minister for Large and Medium Industries Murugesh Nirani, Agriculture Minister B.C. Patil, Minister for Handloom, Textiles and Sugar Shankar Patil Munenakoppa, MLA Arvind Bellad, KMRTC office-bearers Shivaram Hegde, Mallesh Jadar, Jayaprakash Tenginakai. M.K. Patil, Ninganna Biradar, and others were present.
The KMRTC was set up under Central and State grants and was functioning in association with the North Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (NKSSIA) and the Karnatak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) for the last 26 years.
The Centre provides quality testing services for the industrial products from the region, which also helps the industries export their products.
