The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Plan to boost tourism in Uttara Kannada

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Friday, Jun 15, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Plan to boost tourism in Uttara Kannada

Special Correspondent

Investment will be sought from NRIs, says Minister

BANGALORE: A plan is being chalked out to develop the tourism industry in Uttara Kannada district that has five coastal taluks, Minister for Small-scale Industries Shivananda Narayana Naik has said.

Addressing presspersons here on Thursday, Mr. Naik who is also Minister in- charge of the district, said that a meeting with non-resident Indians would be convened soon to attract investment.

With beaches, thick woods and deep valleys, the district headquarters of Karwar had all the features of a perfect holiday destination. Devbagh was the most enchanting of the five islands along the Karwar coast, he said.

Mr. Naik said that officials of the Revenue Department had been conducting a survey to find land for opening hotels. Local landholders would also be involved in promoting resorts, boating and other tourism-related activities. Efforts would be made to attract tourists who visit Goa, which is just 100 km away from Karwar, he said.

On the proposed mega thermal power generation plant at Tadadi in the district, Mr. Naik said that people had been opposing the project on environmental grounds. The Power Finance Corporation (PFC) is the nodal agency for development of the plant.

On release of subsidy to small-scale industries (SSIs), the Minister said that Rs. 100 crore had already been released. The Budget had set aside Rs. 75 crore for clearing pending subsidy to SSIs, he said.

On the proposal to shift SSIs located at Kamakshipalya in Bangalore city, he said that the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) had been asked to acquire land at Ganapathihalli on the outskirts of the city. But the Magadi MLA had been opposing acquisition of land from farmers. An appeal had been made to Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to intervene to sort out the problem, he said.

Kamakshipalya had become congested and there was no space for expansion of existing industries.

A majority of units that were started on a small scale had now grown into medium-scale enterprises. Most of the industries were located in residential areas. The KIADB had been told to set aside 30 per cent of land in industrial zones exclusively for SSIs, Mr. Naik said.

The Minister said that 60,000 unemployed youths had been trained under the Suvarna Kayaka Udyoga Shikshana scheme of the department.

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