The alleged irregularities in the allotment of land for the controversial Vedanta University Project (VUP) has stirred up the hornet's nest yet again with the Opposition political parties mounting pressure on the state government to file its response to the Lokpal order on the issue.
The ruling party members found themselves in a tight spot in the state Assembly as the Opposition cried foul over the state government's inaction in the aftermath of the Lokpal verdict.
The Lokpal, in its verdict on March 17 this year, had stated that the MoU signed between the state government and the Anil Agarwal Foundation (AAF) was not a legally enforceable contract. Inferring that the officials of the state government had acted in haste to accede to the request of the Foundation, it had asked the state government to constitute a vigilance cell to enquire into the role of officials in the matter and also monitor the progress of the project to ensure that the land allotted was not utilised for purposes other than education.
Terming the state government's reticence on the issue as a matter of serious concern, the Opposition pressed for a detailed discussion on it on the floor of the house.
Bhupinder Singh, the leader of the Opposition said, “Even three months after the Lokpal order on VUP the state government is yet to file its response. The state cannot be a mute spectator to the allegations leveled against VUP by the Lokpal and it is the moral responsibility of the Chief Minister to take action on the matter.”
Accusing the state government of acting in undue haste in passing the Vedanta University Bill, he said, “There was no application of mind by the officials of the core committee constituted for VUP to ensure the strict compliance of norms. It remains inexplicable as to how the state government has allotted over 6000 acres of land in 25 villages of Puri district to the Anil Agarwal Foundation (AAF) which is a private limited company.”
Senior BJP leader K V Singh Deo said, “The irregularities in land allotment to VUP pointed out by the Lokpal verdict is a serious issue and the matter needs to be debated on the floor of the house. The state government is not acting on the directions of Lokpal even though more than three months have elapsed since the passing of the verdict. A broader debate on the implications of the Lokpal verdict on VUP can bring out the lacunae on the issue.”
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It may be noted that the VUP had been facing stiff resistance from the locals due to land acquisition. The project has been unable to make significant progress on the ground even though AAF signed the MoU (memorandum of understanding) with the Orissa government in July 2006.
VUP, being taken up at a cost of about Rs 5,000 crore as a grant from the AAF is set to have an intake of about 1,00,000 students after it is fully operational. The university would have Centres of Excellence to drive cutting-edge and multi-disciplinary research.