Projects in legal web

By Shariff Ameeruddin Ishaqui
Hyderabad, April 26: Projects in Andhra Pradesh worth several lakhs of crores are being stonewalled by litigation.
Major infrastructure and industrial undertakings are struck after their promoters including top companies like Unitech, Wipro, Infosys, Lanco, Brahmani Steels, Science City were dragged to court by people claiming right over the lands that was allotted to firmes by the government.
Non-governmental organisations and environmentalist are also involved in the legal battle 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 stay last October on further proceedings in a petition filed by Samata, a non-governmental organisation.
The company bagged tenders to develop a township over 1750 acres at Visakhapatnam with an investment of Rs 350 crore. The former minister and Telugu Desam leader Thammineni Seetharm has also filed a public interest litigation in the High Court seeking a direction to conduct probe on allotment of land to the Integrated Vizag Knowledge City.
Another Unitech venture, at Nadergul near Hyderabad city is also in legal tangle after a retired government employee Pratap Karan, and 15 others filed a writ petition in the court cliaming that they are the owners of the 373.22 acres of land alloted to 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 including Wipro, Infosys, Polaris, Microsoft besides Lanco Hills Technology Park Limited are running between 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 Koakapet land auctioned by Huda are pursuing the case with undiminished vigour despite set backs in rulings by the High Court.They recently filed another petition claiming owner ship of Golden Mlie layout land. The Rs 20,000-crore Brahmani steel plant at Ambavaram in Jammalamadugu in Kadapa district is also facing a public interest litigation from the Telugu Desam.The PIL contends that the government allotted the land to the company at lower -than -market price and showed undue favour in the allocation.