Andhra Pradesh government today decided to cancel alienation of over 10,000 acres of land to Brahmani Industries Ltd, about 11 months after it terminated the MoU entered into with Gali Janardhan Reddy promoted firm to set up an integrated steel unit in Kadapa district.
BIL is a subsidiary of the Obulapuram Mining company owned by former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, who is now in jail in connection with the illegal mining scam.
"Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today approved the proposal to cancel alienation of 10,760.66 acres of land to Brahmani Industries in Kadapa for failure to establish an integrated steel plant," a press release from the chief minister's office said.
On May 31 last year, the state government issued an order terminating a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it entered into with Brahmani Industries, to set up an integrated steel plant in Kadapa district, as it "totally failed to fulfil its commitments".
The then AP government headed by Y S Rajasekhara Reddy allotted 10,760 acres of land to BIL to set up the integrated steel plant with an initial production capacity of two million tonnes per annum, which was to be expanded to ten million tonnes by 2017.
The proposed plant would directly employ 10,000 and also creating indirect employment for one lakh people, it was earlier said.
When the project was initially mooted, the government had agreed to allot 8,000 acres to BIL.
Several incentives under the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Promotion Policy 2005-10 were also extended to BIL, as it was classified as a "mega project".
The YSR government also allotted 3,115 acres of land to BIL to set up a "commercial airport and flying academy" at Ambavaram village in Kadapa district.
