Saswat Panigrahi I New Delhi
The allotment of 6,000 acres of agricultural land by the Odisha Government to London-based Vedanta Foundation for a proposed ‘world class’ university on the Puri-Konark marine drive has triggered strong reactions from a national convention held under the aegis of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch.
It has been learnt that there is a crude chasm between the land allotted and the land required for the Vedanta university project. Amongst the 6,000 acres of agricultural land, 1,300 acres belong to Lord Jagannath Temple which farmers linked to the seva of the temple cultivate and another large stretch of land contains huge quantity of thorium and other rare earth deposits.
Moreover, the land for which the project was announced comes under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), situated adjacent to the sweet water zone of Puri which is going to be affected if the project is made operational, experts say.
The proposed university claims to cater to the needs of one lakh students. ‘Secret’ official communication indicates that inside the university campus there are plans to construct a 600-MW power plant, multi-star hotels, shopping malls and airport.
Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi suspected a huge scam in the project. “The intention of the Vedanta Foundation is not education but pure business. The Foundation has so far not defined the status of international university, which further clarifies its intention. This will be a prodigal paradise for the rich and elite at the cost of agricultural land. The project aims at destruction, not development,” said Joshi. Taking strong cognisance of handing over Jagannath Temple land to the foundation for a throw-away price Joshi said the BJD Government is playing with the sentiments of the Hindus.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Rudra Narayan Pany said, “The illegal land grab of Vedanta Foundation has a tacit patronage of the Naveen Patnaik Government. Despite being a private company, the Foundation gets all necessary clearance of the State Government to acquire huge quantity of agricultural land, though as per law no private company is qualified to set up a university. In return the BJD 2009 poll campaign was largely funded by Vedanta foundation.”
“This was an erroneous and illegal understanding, indeed an unauthorised transaction derogatory to the interests of Odisha,” quipped Uma Ballav Rath, convener of Vedanta Vishwa Vidyalaya Virodhi Sanghrash Samiti. “It is smuggling in the name of education,” lamented Jayant Das, former Advocate-General, Odisha.
-- The report appeared in The Pioneer on April 14, 2010
The allotment of 6,000 acres of agricultural land by the Odisha Government to London-based Vedanta Foundation for a proposed ‘world class’ university on the Puri-Konark marine drive has triggered strong reactions from a national convention held under the aegis of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch.
It has been learnt that there is a crude chasm between the land allotted and the land required for the Vedanta university project. Amongst the 6,000 acres of agricultural land, 1,300 acres belong to Lord Jagannath Temple which farmers linked to the seva of the temple cultivate and another large stretch of land contains huge quantity of thorium and other rare earth deposits.
Moreover, the land for which the project was announced comes under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), situated adjacent to the sweet water zone of Puri which is going to be affected if the project is made operational, experts say.
The proposed university claims to cater to the needs of one lakh students. ‘Secret’ official communication indicates that inside the university campus there are plans to construct a 600-MW power plant, multi-star hotels, shopping malls and airport.
Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi suspected a huge scam in the project. “The intention of the Vedanta Foundation is not education but pure business. The Foundation has so far not defined the status of international university, which further clarifies its intention. This will be a prodigal paradise for the rich and elite at the cost of agricultural land. The project aims at destruction, not development,” said Joshi. Taking strong cognisance of handing over Jagannath Temple land to the foundation for a throw-away price Joshi said the BJD Government is playing with the sentiments of the Hindus.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Rudra Narayan Pany said, “The illegal land grab of Vedanta Foundation has a tacit patronage of the Naveen Patnaik Government. Despite being a private company, the Foundation gets all necessary clearance of the State Government to acquire huge quantity of agricultural land, though as per law no private company is qualified to set up a university. In return the BJD 2009 poll campaign was largely funded by Vedanta foundation.”
“This was an erroneous and illegal understanding, indeed an unauthorised transaction derogatory to the interests of Odisha,” quipped Uma Ballav Rath, convener of Vedanta Vishwa Vidyalaya Virodhi Sanghrash Samiti. “It is smuggling in the name of education,” lamented Jayant Das, former Advocate-General, Odisha.
-- The report appeared in The Pioneer on April 14, 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment