The Hindu : Front Page : Panel to scrutinise HMT land deal

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Thursday, Jan 31, 2008
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Panel to scrutinise HMT land deal

To submit its recommendations
in a week
To look into misdeeds in present and previous deals

V.S. Achuthanandan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to constitute a high-level committee to scrutinise and recommend action to be taken by the government in the sale of land by HMT Ltd. to a Mumbai-based company for development of Cyber City in Kochi.

Irregularities have been alleged in the sale of the land, which had been given by the government to the public sector company for its use.

Chief Secretary P.J. Thomas and the secretaries in charge of Revenue, Industries, Information Technology, Registration and Law will be members of the committee.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan told the media after the Cabinet meeting that the committee had been told to submit its recommendations in a week. Irregularities in the present and previous deals would be detected and action taken.

It was the declared policy of the government to protect government land and recover public land in the possession of land grabbers. The media had done a good job of exposing the HMT deal. However, they should not press for speedy action. It has to be done in a thorough manner. He recalled that 12,000 acres had been resumed from land grabbers at Munnar and 15,000 acres elsewhere in the State. The survey to determine the land in the possession of Tata Tea was under way. Action would be taken on completion of the survey.

He said the previous government had aided encroachment of rivers, forests and scenic spots such as Kovalam. The present government was committed to enforcing the provisions of the Land Reforms Act, resume government land and distribute that to the poor.

The lump sum grant and pocket money payable to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes students would be increased by 50 per cent with effect from April 1, 2008. The additional expenditure would be Rs.70 crore.

The rates were revised last in 2001 during the LDF rule. Though the Babu Vijayanath Commission had recommended that the rates should be revised every three years, the UDF government had not approved the proposals in this regard during its tenure.

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