The YSRCP government in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday decided to cancel the land allotment made to the Lulu Group for developing Lulu International Shopping Mall and Convention Hall in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam.
The state cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, decided to cancel the Government Order issued by the previous government of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) allotting 13.83 acres of land for the company. It also decided to scrap the agreement signed for the project.
While the market value of the land was Rs 50 crore, it was allegedly given at a meagre cost of Rs 4 lakh per acre which was unethical, said Information and Public Relations Minister Perni Venkatramiah while briefing media on the cabinet decisions.
The Chandrababu Naidu government had allotted the land for the prestigious project at Harbor Park with a beachfront view.
The UAE-based group had laid foundation stone for the Rs 2,200-crore project in February last year. The project components included a mega commercial complex, convention centre-cum-exhibition halls with 7,000 seating capacity, a 5-star hotel with 220 rooms and other supporting facilities.
The company had promised to provide over 5,000 direct and 5,000 indirect jobs in the largest integrated project, which was expected to be operational from 2022.
The state cabinet also decided to cancel allotment of 498.93 acres of land to VBC Fertilisers Aat Jayantipuram village in Jaggaiahpet 'mandal' of Krishna district. The YSRCP government claimed that this allotment was made to the kin of Chandrababu Naidu and this decision too was unethical.
Venkataramaiah said that Jagan Mohan Reddy government is determined to provide corruption-free governance and to achieve this it would take action whenever wrong-doing was found.
Ever since it came to power in May, the YSRCP government has rolled back several schemes, initatives and projects undertaken by the TDP government, claiming that Chandrababu Naidu was indulging in corruption, and causing a loss to the state exhequer.
"The previous government has left behind a legacy of huge debts stemming from off-budget borrowings and loans from various corporations and extravagant spending and clearing the dues of their favoured contractors while mounting the dues to public services and other utilities," Finance Minister Buggana Rajendernath had told reporters in Amaravati earlier this month.
IANS inputs