HC notice to TN govt on SIPCOT land

Chennai, Mar 29 (UNI) Madras High Court today ordered notice to the Tamil Nadu Government and two others on a petition from DMK Treasurer Arcot N Veerasamy seeking to implead himself as a party in the writ petitions from Singapore Realty Pvt Ltd challenging the cancellation of SIPCOT land allotted to it.

Mr Justice P K Misra and Mr Justice R Sudhakar ordered notice returnable by four weeks while admitting the petition filed by Mr Veerasamy, who also sought a CBI probe into the matter.

Orginally, challenging sale of over 103 acre of SIPCOT land in Siruseri on Old Mahabalipuram Road, near Chennai, to the Singapore company, Veerasami had filed a PIL. Later, the state government issued a GO cancelling the sale. Aggrieved, the Singapore company preferred two writ petitions challenging the GO dated February 17 and 28, 2006. The High Court ordered maintainance of status quo.

In his present petition, Veerasamy sought to his inclusion as a party in the petition. He contended that the government had cancelled the MoU dated September 16, 2003 and allotment orders dated February 13 and December 10, 2004, on the ground that the project could not be completed because of action initiated by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. This reasoning was nothing but eyewash. The government had questioned the Ministry's notification and it was pending.

It had only used the notification as an excuse to cancel the MoU and allotment orders, he said, adding, this was only to cover up the illegality committed by the government and other officials in privately negotiating with certain unknown Indian partners of Lee Kim Tah Holdings Limited, the parent company, and conveying valuable property worth over Rs 200 crore for a price of Rs 15 crore to benefit some persons closely connected with ruling party leaders.

The two companies parties to the illegality could not claim any relief. Sale deeds registered in May and December 2004 had not been cancelled and possession of the land had not been resumed, he said.

UNI XR AA JN HT2100