Wipro, Infy Bengal plans stalled

wipro

KOLKATA: The Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government has stalled mutation of land purchased from farmers by the promoters of the proposed IT township besides Vedic Village.

His move seems to be aimed at sending out a clear signal that the administration isn’t comfortable about carrying out deals with Raj Modi, the main partner of the Vedic Diamond IT Links.

The project is close to the chief minister’s heart as he has promised to give 90 acres each to Infosys and Wipro from this township area.

The order comes in the wake of Modi being arrested for murder and links with alleged land-grab kingpin Gaffar Mollah, and a cache of firearms tumbling out of Vedic Village. Home secretary Ardhendu Sen had given away the CM’s stern views the very day after the arson, saying: “Land for the IT township is being purchased at gunpoint.”

The government has come to know that the land mafia in the area has purchased acres of land and is waiting for mutation. A look at the brochure prepared by the Diamond Group, whose chairman A N Shroff is very much into the realty business, reveals that the group already has 368.7 acres near Vedic Village, with an estimated market value of Rs 446.13 crore.

A senior Writers’ Buildings official said on Tuesday: “The CM is doing his bit as home minister by booking Modi and his officials. Now, he has taken stern action regarding his pet IT township project, taking cognizance of the forced land transfer.”

The government order came on the day land and land reforms minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah demanded that the IT township project be scrapped immediately. The minister is in the thick of controversies for an earlier out-of-court settlement with Modi, thus returning land vested by the government to Vedic Village at a throwaway price.

Also, Gautam Deb, housing minister and chairman of Hidco, which controls the adjoining Rajarhat township, will explain his position over allegations of “forcible land purchase” at Rajarhat.

As his Cabinet colleagues make an effort to come out clean, the CM has preferred to address the two core issues: booking criminals and suspending land-buying by Modi & Co for the IT township. Prodded by Writers’, a officials had visited Bhangar this week to probe land procurement for the IT township.