MYSORE: Objections have been filed against the Infosys Technologies' plan to acquire 61 acres of land in addition to its 315.58-acre campus in the Hebbal Industrial Area here.

The objections were filed by the Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) with reference to the final report and executive summary of the Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment (REIA), and submitted to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and the Deputy Commissioner of Mysore.

Hearing

An "environmental public hearing" is scheduled for February 3 in connection with the project, and the MGP has demanded that it be postponed. It said the use of land by Infosys, which is the subject of the hearing, should be studied. Maj. Gen. (retd.) Sudhir Vombatkere, MGP president, said although the hearing concerns a project on 61 acres of land, no scale map was attached to the REIA final report or executive summary, indicating the location of the land in relation to the Infosys campus.

"This was brought out during a visit on January 10 to the KSPCB office in Mysore. Although the authorities were requested to provide a map, they did not do so. When the land in question is not defined, it makes the data presented in final report and executive summary quite meaningless," Mr. Vombatkere said.

The final report of the REIA and the executive summary should be rejected and the haring postponed, he added.

The MGP criticised Infosys and pollution control board officials for their alleged failure to take public interest into account, and called for scheduling the hearing 30 days after a scale map of the area is made available.

Preferential treatment

The objections submitted to the pollution control board alleged that Infosys has been given preferential treatment at public cost. Land was sold by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) to industries at the rate of Rs. 6 lakhs an acre, before Infosys acquired land for its campus.

However, Infosys reportedly obtained 315.58 acres of land at Rs. 3 lakhs an acre, according to the MGP.

The MGP said 61 acres of land was sold to Infosys at Rs. 6 lakhs an acre when the rate for KIADB land in the Hebbal area was Rs. 16 lakhs an acre.

Taking exception to alleged change in land use pattern, the MGP said land is being used for constructing residential buildings, which is against the law.

Water supply

The MGP has also objected to an "assurance" to supply 12 lakh litres of water a day to the Infosys campus at a time when supply in the city is once in three days for three hours.

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