Haryana govt denies it favoured Reliance in SEZ

Chandigarh, May 30 (UNI) The Haryana government today took strong exception to the ''blatant allegations'' levelled by the opposition INLD that it had favoured Reliance Industries by giving it cheap land for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Gurgaon at the cost of state exchequer. An official spokesman described INLD leader Ajay Singh Chautala's statement in this regard as ''mischievous, misleading and a vain attempt to divert the attention of the people from the CBI investigation into the disproportionate assets acquired by former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and members of his family.'' He pointed out that it was wrong to say that the land having a market price of about Rs 8150 crore had been handed over to Reliance Industries at a very low rate.

He made it clear that the market price of the land in such allotments was totally irrelevant as infrastructure development agencies like Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC) developed industrial, residential, institutional and commercial land and allotted it after putting infrastructure facilities like roads, sewerage, electricity and storm water drainage to the entrepreneurs on a no-profit-no-loss basis.

Reacting to INLD allegation with regard to power purchase agreement, he said that neither any unusual procedure had been adopted for negotiations made with a private party for long term power purchase nor has the matter been dealt with in a secret manner as had been alleged.

UNI MA LR HS2127