Land-losers demand jobs for distant relatives; do not have required qualification and harass industries: Company HR Departments

Mysore/Mysuru: Against the grim backdrop of the recent suicide of 32-year-old Siddaraju, who alleged that the factory to which he had surrendered his fertile land failed to provide him employment at Adakanahalli village, Nanjangud taluk, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dr. K.V. Rajendra has issued a stern warning to companies.

He cautioned that the allocation of land to businesses and industries could be revoked and their licences could be cancelled if local residents, who have relinquished their land for industrial purposes, are not provided with jobs.

The DC’s warning came during the Kaigarika Adalat held yesterday at Zilla Panchayat Auditorium along with Chief Executive Officer of Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) Dr. Mahesh. Human Resource (HR) personnel from various companies, present at the meeting, were instructed to expedite the process of development and provide job opportunities in the Mysuru region.

The District Administration and KIADB expressed their commitment to offering support to industrialists interested in establishing industries in the region. To create a conducive environment, the Deputy Commissioner urged industrialists to fulfil their commitment to provide jobs to farmers who lose their land to industries.

CM’s intervention

Sources told Star of Mysore that after Siddaraju’s death came to light, Chief Minister Siddharamaiah and his son Dr. Yathindra Siddharamaiah, who is the Chairman of the Ashraya Committee in Varuna Assembly Constituency represented by his father, took up the issue with KIADB and asked the officers to probe why jobs are not being provided to land-losers despite a Government and KIADB policy.

Though the DC of Mysuru too had instructed the industries to provide jobs to land-losers, the industries had ignored the Government’s directions, Yathindra had lamented later.

On their part, the HR personnel and company representatives told the DC and the KIADB CEO that they have been providing jobs to land-losers as per policy. “However, there are many issues in identification of legal heirs of the land-losers that is very different from the definition of family given in the policy,” they said.

One HR Manager complained to the DC that jobs are being demanded to distant relatives of the land losers who lack qualification to enter the job stream. “There are many who come with SSLC pass/fail certificates for a good job. If jobs are denied as they do not have the qualifications or the skill sets, there are instances where the water supply to the company is disconnected and money is demanded to restore water,” he said.

The HR personnel told the DC that they have provided a large percentage of jobs to land-losers within one year of the establishment of the companies. “In many cases, jobs are sought even five to six years after the companies are established,” they said.  

Other industry representatives said that in Immavu Industrial Area, KIADB has acquired 450-acre land, issued notifications and also allotted lands to the industries. “However, we are not able to set up industries as certain people are threatening us of dire consequences if ‘hafta’ money (up to Rs. 2 to Rs. 3 lakh) is not paid to them. Due to this harassment and threatening, none of the industries are willing to construct buildings on the land that is legally theirs,” they said. 

Responding to the concerns raised by industrialists, the KIADB CEO assured to convene a meeting with Chief Minister Siddharamaiah after the Belagavi winter session of the legislature.

Joint Director of District Industries Centre Dinesh Kumar, KIADB Development Officer Sushma, Special Land Acquisition Officer Priyadarshini, Hosakote Basavaraju of the Raitha Sangha, Hasiru Sene’s Vidyasagar, KATKHI (Kadakola, Adakanahalli, Thandya, Kochanahalli, Immavu) Industrial Association President Prashanth and others were present.