Stay on Vanpic land acquisition

By S A Ishaqui

Hyderabad, July 24 : The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday granted stay on land acquisition of about 120 acres in Motupalli village of China Ganjam mandal in Prakasam district for the proposed Vodarevu and Nizampatnam Ports Industrial Corridor (Vanpic) project.

The court was dealing with a petition filed by one Mr K. Ravindra Babu and 18 others, residents of Guntur city and Chirala town challenging the notification issued by the government on July 13 to acquire their lands for the project.

The petitioners contended that according to Section 40 (1) (a) of the Land Acquisition Act, acquisition of land for a private company can be resorted to only when the acquisition was for erecting houses for its workmen, but not for setting up an industry.