VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has instructed the state government to submit a counter affidavit detailing the applications received for land allotment intended for the development of an IT park in Visakhapatnam, along with the policy framework guiding such allotments. However, the court chose not to grant an injunction on the allotment process involving Raheja Corporation Limited.
The order was issued in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by G Srinivasa Rao of the Society for Protection of Constitutional Rights, aiming to challenge the allotment of 27.1 acres at Madhurawada IT Hill-3 under the AP Land Incentive for Tech Hubs (APLIfT) policy.
During the hearing, Senior Counsel Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy, representing the petitioner, argued that the allotment contravened the LIfT policy and asserted that land was being offered to a real estate company at a mere ₹0.99 per acre. He also indicated that the government was about to allocate ₹91 crore for construction and requested a stay on the ongoing process.
In defense of the government, Advocate General Dammalapati Srinivas mentioned that a separate PIL on this issue was already pending in the high court and proposed that both matters be combined. He refuted the claim regarding the land allotment price, clarifying that the allotment would be contingent upon creating 15,000 jobs, as promised in the IT park initiative.
Srinivas also contended that the petitioner had not disclosed facts related to the conditions placed on Raheja Corporation. He requested additional time to submit a comprehensive counter affidavit, assuring the court that all pertinent information would be presented.
After considering the arguments from both sides, the bench, led by Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Challa Gunaranjan, scheduled further hearings in two weeks, instructing the state government to file its complete counter.
