Jagan cancels land allotment for Lulu Group in Vizag

Andhra Pradesh's Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government on Wednesday decided to cancel the land allotment made to Lulu Group for developing Lulu International Shopping Mall and Convention Hall in coastal city of Visakhapatnam.

The state cabinet meeting, chaired by chief Minister Y.S. 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 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. YSR Congress Party 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. IANS