Infosys Comes Under Fire in Karnataka Assembly For Not Creating a Single Job
Bengaluru: Industries Minister MB Patil promised action after Deputy Leader of the Opposition Arvind Bellad on Tuesday asked the government to withdraw 58 acres of land allotted to IT major Infosys in Hubli for not creating a single job.
Bellad, the Hubli-Dharwad (West) MLA, said this during a discussion on a calling attention motion by Mulbagal MLA Samruddhi Manjunath regarding jobs for locals at industrial establishments.
"There's an industrial estate in my constituency where Infosys took 58 acres. They've not created a single job. Instead, they've done gardening and landscaping," Bellad said.
The BJP MLA said Infosys got land worth Rs 1.5 crore per acre at just Rs 35 lakh. "I requested farmers to part with their lands saying their children would get jobs. Today, I can't see them in the eye. I convinced them to withdraw their court case also. There must be some penalty," Bellad said. He even complained that jobs for locals have not been provided at the Hubballi airport operated by the Airports Authority of India.
Infosys' Hubballi campus, which has a capacity to house 1,500 techies, was cleared in 2013. The campus was constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 350 crore.
"If land was taken, but nothing was done, then we will issue notice and take action," Patil said, without naming Infosys.
When Bellad asked what penal action the government can take, Patil and IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge said incentives will be withdrawn. "We can even consider a policy (for penalties)," Patil said.
Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka stressed on the need for penalties on industries that do not provide jobs for locals or comply with rules.
Earlier, Manjunath said industries are not complying with the requirement of giving jobs to Kannadigas. To this, Patil said out of 36,286 jobs in the Narasapura industrial area in Kolar, 28,543 are held by locals.
"Under the Industrial Policy 2020-25, establishments receiving incentives from the government must provide 100% Group D jobs and an overall 70% jobs to Kannadigas," Patil said. The minister stressed that it is mandatory for jobs to be given to families who lost land in lieu of the industrial investment.
"Be it Infosys or any company, if land losers aren't given jobs based on their educational qualification, we can withdraw incentives. We can even withdraw the land in stringent action," Patil said.
Patil also said the government will ensure jobs for land losers at Taiwanese giant Foxconn's plant in Doddaballapur where 20 million iPhones will be manufactured.
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Steel mirrors deployed in Mysuru to discourage public urination
Mysuru (PTI): Fed up with people relieving themselves along roadsides, the Mysuru City Corporation has adopted a unique strategy to curb the practice and promote civic sense by installing reflective steel mirrors along pavements, officials said on Friday.
In what officials described as a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Corporation installed stainless steel sheets with a mirror finish along an 80-metre stretch opposite the Mysuru Suburban Bus Stand.
Officials said the reflective sheets are intended to confront anyone attempting to urinate in public with their own reflection, thereby discouraging the act psychologically.
“The idea is to maintain cleanliness and hygiene, prevent public nuisance, and promote civic sense. It is a simple yet psychological approach that encourages self-awareness through reflection,” officials added.
Soon after the mirrors were installed, videos of the initiative went viral on social media, with many people appreciating the administration’s innovative attempt to address public urination. At the same time, some users pointed out the lack of basic civic sense among people.
Several social media users also suggested that more public toilets, maintained in a hygienic condition, were needed to further discourage open urination.
Explaining how the idea originated, Nitesh Patil, Administrator and Regional Commissioner of the Mysuru City Corporation, told PTI that despite a public toilet being located next to the bus stand, many people continued to urinate in the open.
Even fines and warnings failed to deter them from relieving themselves against vacant compound walls, leaving behind a foul smell.
“One of our engineers came up with this idea, and we decided to implement it. The initiative has received a very positive response from the public, social media, and the press. We are now planning to identify more such locations in the city and install similar reflectors,” he said.
According to him, to ensure that the installation is both effective and visually appealing, LED lighting that switches on along with the streetlights has also been added, causing the stretch to glow at night and enhancing the city’s appearance.
Patil said the initiative had helped create civic awareness while also beautifying the city.
“We want our city to be clean and hygienic. We aspire to become the cleanest city in the country,” he added, recalling that Mysuru secured third place nationally in the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2024–25 last year.
