Around 303 hectares of land acquired by the government for establishing a Special Economic Zone in the revenue districts of Sedarapet and Karasur has remained idle for more than 12 years.
The Revenue Department had acquired the land, mostly agricultural, in 2006 for setting up a Special Economic Zone. The government has incurred ₹74 crore on land acquisition.
After the land was handed over to the Puducherry Industrial Promotion Development and Investment Corporation, the government had floated a Special Purpose Vehicle, comprising the corporation and two private companies.
Soon the project ran into rough weather with the Centre cancelling the setting up of the SEZ as the land acquired was not in a contiguous area.
The Department of Economic Affairs also questioned the process adopted by the Puducherry government in constituting the SPV.
The Centre had directed PIPDIC to return the land to the Industrial Department.
After the present government came to power, in line with its intent to push investment, it had decided to use the acquired land for industrial purpose.
At a cabinet meeting held on February 6, last year, the government had recommended returning the land to PIPDIC with a condition that it would not be used for SEZ purpose, an official said.
However, the Lt Governor kept the decision in abeyance considering the controversy the project had courted in the past.
A highly placed source in the government told The Hindu that the Chief Minister on August 10 wrote to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs seeking its permission to revert the land to PIPDIC, which according to the government was the requisition agency for land acquisition.
“The government was planning to hold an industrial summit. Without having possession of a few acres of land, there was no purpose in holding the summit. We were planning to showcase the acquired land. We cannot compete with other States by providing financial subsidies to attract investment due to our constraints. At least we could have marketed Pondy by telling industrialists that we have a land bank,” he said.
A top industrialist said land was so scarce in Puducherry for industrial activity. “Keeping such a huge vast of land idle for years is a wasteful exercise,” he said.
Leader of Communist Party of India (Marxist) V. Perumal said it was a colossal waste of money. The Supreme Court had given a judgement that if the land acquired cannot be used for the stated purpose, it must be returned to the original owners, he said.
“The government has acquired the land for industrial purpose. It should be used or returned to the farmers,” he said.
