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Projects In Legal Web
Posted by Pradeep Sadanapalli | April 27, 2008 | 616 views
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Loading ...Projects in the state worth lakhs of crores are being stonewalled by litigation. Major infrastructure and industrial undertakings are stuck after their promoters — including top companies like Unitech, Wipro, Infosys, Lanco and Bramhani Steels — were dragged to court by people claiming right over the land that was allotted to the firms by the government.
Non-governmental organisations and environmentalists are also involved in legal battles against some of the projects.
Unitech, one of India’s largest property developers, has faced legal hurdles after it made an aggressive entry into the booming real estate market in the state. It proposed to develop two major townships in Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad. Its Integrated Vizag Knowledge City at Kapula Uppada village in Visakhpatnam district stalled after the AP High Court granted a stay last October on proceedings in a case regarding ownership of the land on which the project was to be developed.
The case was taken up on a petition filed by the NGO Samata. The company had bagged tenders to develop a township on 1,750 acres at an outlay of Rs 350 crore. The former minister and TD leader, Mr Thammineni Seetharam, has also filed a public interest litigation in the HC seeking a direction for a probe into allotment of land for the Integrated Vizag Knowledge City.
Another Unitech venture, at Nadergul near Hyderabad, is also in a legal tangle after a retired government employee, Mr Pratap Karan, and 15 others filed a writ petition in the court claiming that they are the owners of the 373.22 acres of land allotted for the project.
The Rs 1,00,000-crore Science City in Anantapur district, proposed by a multinational consortium led by Jurong International Group of Singapore, is also waiting on a favourable court ruling after a case was filed against the project by local villagers who questioned the quantum of compensation they were offered.
The consortium developing Science City, consisting of Australian firms Springfield Land Corporation and Macquarie Bank and Jurong and Semb Corp Industries of Singapore, was planned on over 60,000 acres.
Software giants like Microsoft, Wipro, Infosys and Polaris are caught in the corridors of the AP High Court and the Supreme Court after various parties approached courts claiming the sites allotted to them are Wakf properties. Hyderabad Urban Development Authority’s prestigious Golden Mile Layout Project at Kokapet is also caught in a legal snarl. Petitioners claiming right over the Kokapet land auctioned by Huda are pursuing the case with undiminished vigour despite setbacks in rulings by the High Court. They recently filed another petition claiming ownership of Golden Mile layout land.
The Rs 20,000-crore Bramhani steel plant at Ambavaram in Kadapa district also faces a public interest litigation filed by the Telugu Desam. The PIL contends that the government allotted the land to the company at a lower-than-market price and showed undue favour in the allocation.
SOURCES:
Deccan Chronicle
Topics: Public Concerns, Govt Failures, Real Estate |
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