Odisha govt to return land acquired for Vedanta varsity project

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government has initiated proceedings to give back land that was previously acquired by Vedanta Group in Puri for a university development following a 2006 MoU. The govt will also probe corruption, if any, in the land acquisition process.

Disclosing this here, revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari announced on Wednesday that authorities would issue a notification within the next two to three days regarding the return of approximately 3,342 acres of private land to its original owners. Similarly, the govt will take back possession of around 500 acre govt land, which was given to the Anil Agarwal-led group, reports Times of India.

This action follows the Supreme Court's ruling in April 2023 that invalidated the original land acquisition for the planned university. "The govt has examined the court order. We will abide by it in letter and spirit. The previous govt acquired such a huge land parcel in a hurry without properly examining the proposal to seek credit for commissioning a big project," he said.

"The govt will also examine the whole process. If any corruption is found, action will be taken against the erring persons," the minister said, adding the govt did not consider the fact that the project proponent had no prior experience of running an educational institution while the land acquired was probably the highest for such projects in the world.

More than 6,000 farmer families lost land to the Vedanta Group. Nine of the land losers challenged the land acquisition process in the Orissa high court. The HC in Nov 2010 termed the land acquisition illegal. The Supreme Court in April 2023 upheld the Orissa HC decision, pointing out "non-application of mind" in the acquisition and "undue favours" shown to the company.

While the Vedanta Group sought 15,000 acres along Puri-Konark marine drive, the govt acquired more than 6,000 acres spread across 22 villages and was in the process of acquiring more. While 4,178.84 acres of private land were acquired, the govt gave possession of 3,342.53 acres to the Vedanta Group for the university project.

The minister said those who received compensation for the land have to return the same to the govt. Those who have not received any compensation will automatically get back the land without spending a penny. The govt will identify all the land losers, he said.