CHIKKAMAGALURU:  Revenue Minister R Ashoka said 40,000 acres of encroached land will be leased out in the district and a circular in this regard has been published in the state gazette.  At a felicitation accorded to him by the Karnataka Growers’ Federation, Karnataka Planters’ Association and UPASEE at the AIT College amphi theatre here, he said provision for lending of loans on the leased encroached lands by banks will be brought under the frame of law. 

Tenders has been invited for demarcating the border between the forest and revenue lands identified by a drone survey at a cost of Rs 280 crore. On an experimental basis, four to five districts have been selected. 

In Chikkamagaluru district, 2,688 growers have encroached up to 10 acres, followed by 554 persons up to 10 to 15 acres, 861 persons up to 15 to 20 acres and 989 planters who have encroached up to 20 to 25 acres. Law has been framed to lease the encroached land according to the conscience, the minister said. 

Extent of deemed forest is 9 lakh hectares and after meeting with the forest minister, 6 lakh hectares of land has been taken back by the revenue department.  Details on survey numbers of respective lands have been already sent to the deputy commissioners. Lands will be transferred to the owners who are cultivating in the said lands, he said.

BENGALURU:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) new greenfield helicopter factory at Bidarehallakaval at Nittur near Tumakuru in Karnataka at 3.30 pm on Monday. He had laid the foundation stone for the project in 2016. But there will be no fly-past at the event as certain parameters are yet to be met, sources said.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, it is yet another step towards Atma Nirbharta in the defence sector which will enhance capacity and ecosystem to build helicopters at Asia’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility. Initially, the unit will manufacture the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), which is an indigenously designed and developed 3-tonne class, single-engine, multipurpose utility helicopter with unique features of high manoeu-vrability. 

PM to lay foundation stones for Jal Jeevan projects

The factory, spread across 615 acres, will be expanded to manufacture other choppers, like the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Indian Multirole Helicopter (IMRH). The facility will also be used for repair and overhaul of LCH, LUH, Civil ALH and IMRH in the future.

The factory has the potential to export Civil LUHs in years to come. The new facility can meet the country’s entire requirement of helicopters, and will attain the distinction of enabling self-reliance in helicopter design, development and manufacture in the country. The factory will have a manufacturing setup of Industry 4.0 standards.

Over the next 20 years, HAL is planning to produce more than 1,000 helicopters in 3-15 tonne class here, generating employment for around 6,000 people. On the occasion, Modi will lay the foundation stone for the Tumakuru Industrial Township under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme, spread across 8,484 acres to be implemented in three phases as part of the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.

The foundation stones will also be laid for two Jal Jeevan Mission projects at Tiptur and Chikkanayakanahalli as part of Multi-Village Drinking Water Supply Project, to be built at a cost of Rs 430 crore and Rs 115 crore, respectively.

Modi at India Energy Week 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the India Energy Week 2023 at BIEC in Bengaluru at 11.30 am on Monday. Unleashing the ethanol blending roadmap, he will launch E20 fuel and flag off a Green Mobility Rally to create awareness for green fuels. He will also launch the uniforms under the ‘unbottled’ initiative of Indian Oil.