Naidu to reclaim 8,848 Acres of Lepakshi Hub

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to take back 8,848 acres of land allotted to Lepakshi Knowledge Hub (LKH), which had proposed to set up a multi-sector industrial park project in Anantapur district bordering Karnataka.

Members of the Cabinet sub-committee on corruption comprising health minister K Srinivas, labour minister K Atchan Naidu and information minister Palle Raghunath Reddy said that the government had decided to take back the land allotted to LKH.

'The government is planning to vacate the stay obtained by Indu Projects Limited from the court so that the land could be used for taking up developmental works in the region,' they said.

Palle Raghunath said the government had directed the officials to initiate action for cancellation of allotment of land to LKH. He said LKH did not establish any industry nor create any employment and instead mortgaged 4,397 acres of the allotted land for obtaining loans of Rs 880 crore from banks. He said the government would see to it that all the guilty were punished and the land was restored.

The Kiran Kumar Reddy government had ordered cancellation of the LKH MoU and directed the department concerned to initiate the process of restoring the land. However, the company secured stay on the order and the land was not restored.

Indu group, promoter of the project, is a Hyderabad-based real estate player and has already been under CBI scanner for its investments into the firms of YSR Congress chief and Leader of the Opposition YS Jaganmohan Reddy, who is being investigated for alleged quid-pro-quo deals involving government decisions when his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy was the chief minister.

Former ministers -- J Geeta Reddy, P Sabita Indra Reddy and Dharmana Prasada Rao -- and five senior IAS officers BP Acharya, Sam Bob, M Samuel and Muralidhar Reddy have already been named in the Lepakshi case.

In February 2009, LKH had entered into an MoU with the industry department for setting up a global knowledge hub by providing integrated infrastructure support to a range of activities, including education clusters, science and technology parks, medical, aviation and aerospace and IT parks.

According to the MoU, the company and the units were to invest between Rs 8,000 crore and Rs 10,000 crore with a promise to create jobs to 1,50,000 people in a span of 5-10 years. APIIC had made available the entire land, mostly acquired from farmers, to the company for this.

Meanwhile, as part of its endeavour to restore government land allotted to various companies, the sub-committee would be examining the land allocated to Krishnapatnam port.

Hailing the decision of the home ministry to invoke special powers of the Governor in Hyderabad, Raghunath said as per the Reorganisation Act, the Governor is responsible for law and order in Hyderabad.