PIL against 'Odyssey Science City'

By S A Ishaqui
Hyderabad, April 5: A public interest litigation was filed in the AP High Court against the proposed Rs 1,00,000 crore Science City in Anantapur district.A multinational consortium, Jurong International Group of Singapore,entered into an agreement with the State government to construct Science City in thedistrict.D Hanumantha Reddy and K Chandra Sekhar Rao, residents of Anantapur town,filed the PIL alleging that the State had been resorting to lawless action inviolation of constitutional rights and property rights of the farmers of Amadaguru and Obuldevara Chervu village and mandal of Anantapur district.According to the petitioners, the government has appointed the AP IndustrialInfrastructure Corporation as a nodal agency to help the promoters of'OdysseyScience City'.The petitioners alleged that the APIIC and the promoters adopted a modus operandi to purchase lands of farmers. The farmers are warned either to sell their lands or face land acquisition under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act,1894."Since the forced sales are going on at Amadaguru and Oduladevara, farmers are losing their lands for paltry amounts," the petitioners added.
They submitted that till date no proceedings had been initiated under the Act and the company had acquired about 1000 acres of land from the farmers. About10,000 acres is needed for the first phase of the project.They said "if the State resorts to invoke the provisions of the LandAcquisitionAct, a foreign company would not fit in for acquisition of land under Chapter VII of the Act 1894".
It may be mentioned that the consortium consists of Australian firms Springfield Land Corporation and Macquarie Bank and Jurong and Semb Corp Industries of Singapore to construct the Science City over 60,000 acres.
The petitioner urged the court that it direct the state government, the APIIC andMr. Bob Sharpless, director, Odyssey Science City, not to coerce farmersto sell their lands.