Complete Ganjimutt Plastic Park project excluding nine acres of land under litigation, MP tells KIADB

Layout plan of Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) at Ganjimutt in Mangaluru. File
| Photo Credit: MANJUNATH HS

Stating that any further delay in commissioning the Plastic Park at Ganjimutt near Mangaluru will adversely impact the industrial growth in the region, Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta has asked the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) to complete the project excluding the disputed portion of the land.

In a letter to the Board that was implementing the joint project along with the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers on Friday, January 24, Capt. Cowta said though the centre had approved the project in 2022, there was no significant progress in the project as noticed during his recent inspection. KIADB officials told him a litigation involving 9.33 acres of land proposed for for the Park was hindering the progress.

KIADB layout plan of EPIP at Ganjimutt in Mangalore taluk
| Photo Credit:
H.S.MANJUNATH

Excluding the land under litigatinon, KIADB should go ahead with the project with the available land, that is 9.33 acres minus 104 acres, the MP said. The Board should revise the plan to exclude the disputed land and develop the remaining portion. Many entrepreneurs who had evinced keen interest to open their shops at the Park have started exploring other regions following the abnormal delay, the MP pointed out. “This will have a negative impact for the region and set a bad precedent for any future projects,” Capt. Chowta pointed out.

The process of setting up the Plastic Park, initiated by the then Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Ananth Kumar, began in 2017 when the Karnataka government offered 96 acres of KIADB land in Ganjimutt for the project. the Union Government gave in principle approval in January 2021 and final approval in January 2022.

The Ministry and the KIADB were supposed to equally share the estimated ₹62.77 crore project cost. Despite rigorous follow up by the then MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and the present MP, the project was yet to take off. The then Minister of State in the Ministry Bhagwant Khuba had chided the KIADB for achieving just 15% physical progress during his site visit in August 2023.