With the Andhra High Court ruling that 1,650 acres of prime land allotted by the state government to various IT firms and developers is actually Wakf land, the government is in damage control mode, reports CNBC-TV18’s Appaji Reddem and Sandeep Srikanth.
The land was allotted to companies like Infosys, Wipro, Microsoft, ISB, Emaar and Lanco. The IT minister has said the state government will now approach the Wakf tribunal and even pay compensation to the Wakf board if the decision doesn't go in its favour. “The government is fully committed to protect the interests of the industry for which the allotment is made,” said Ponnala Lakshmaiah, IT Minister of Andhra Pradesh. But on their part, companies located in the estimated Rs 35,000 crore land are clearly concerned. While firms like Infosys and ISB have not made any formal statements post the HC ruling, Lanco Hills, which has USD 1.5 billion project located on the land, has said it may even approach the Supreme Court on this issue. The Andhra govt though maintains the matter can be settled by approaching the WAKF tribunal and there's no need for investors to panic just yet. “The dispute should be sorted out with the tribunal. I don't know why Lanco says it would like to go to the Supreme Court,” said Lakshmaiah. But the fact is the land ownership dispute with the Wakf Board has been going since 2007 and the HC ruling has come as a clear setback for both the Andhra government and companies located on the land. Watch the accompanying video for more details..Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
