3 min readBhubaneswarNov 17, 2010 01:36 AM IST
First published on: Nov 17, 2010 at 01:36 AM IST
In a major blow to the proposed Vedanta University,the Orissa High Court on Tuesday declared the land acquisition for the Rs 15,000-crore project in Orissas Puri town as illegal and void. The court ordered that the land acquired so far be returned to the original owners.
A two-judge bench of Chief Justice V Gopal Gowda and Justice BP Das ruled that the acquisition process violated several laws and could be a threat to a nearby wildlife sanctuary. In May 11 this year,the Ministry of Environment and Forests MoEF had kept the conditional environmental and Coastal Regulatory Zone clearance of the university in abeyance over allegations of irregularities.
The multi-disciplinary university is being built by the Anil Agarwal Foundation controlled by family members of metal billionaire Anil Agarwal. Proposed over an area of 6,892 acres on the Puri-Konark marine drive overlooking the Bay of Bengal,the university was to have an intake of 1,00,000 students with research facility in 95 academic disciplines. The Foundation had already acquired about 4500 acres.
Hearing a writ petition filed by former Puri MLA Uma Ballabh Rath,the HC said acquisition of government and Lord Jagannath temple land for the university was invalid as it violated Land Acquisition companies Rules,1963.
The HC said the Foundation was not a public limited company and hence any acquisition for it under Land Acquisition Act,1894 was illegal. It said none of the processes such as forming committees under the chairmanship of the district collector has been complied with.
Of the 4,500 acres acquired,1,300 acres are Amrutamanohi land,a type of cultivable land belonging to the Jagannath temple. Crops grown in such land managed by the Puri temple administration are used to prepare Mahaprasad and cannot be sold.
The Foundation also acquired about 700 acres of government and some private land. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said his government would study the order before taking any decision. Company officials refused to comment. But privately,Vedanta officials admitted that the project had been grounded for the last three months and the company had relocated 26 of the 30 staff at the site. The HC said the project could threaten wildlife at the Balukhand Marine Sanctuary located just 30 metres away.
Raising concerns over acquisition of 448 acres of land on Puris sweet-water zone,the HC said any construction on the area would hamper recharging of sweet water.
With the university facing so many bottlenecks in Orissa,Vedanta officials said the project may go to either Andhra Pradesh or Karnataka. Karnataka has already sent feelers with CM K Rosaiah sending a letter to Anil Agarwal in July.
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