INLD approaches Governor on Reliance issue

Chandigarh, Jul 5 (UNI) Alleging a multi-crore scam behind the Haryana government's recent agreement with the Reliance for setting up a Rs 40,000 Special Economic Zone (SEZ), the opposition INLD today urged the state Governor to get the deal cancelled immediately and inititate a high level probe into it.

Senior INLD leaders, who met Governor A R Kidwai, alleged that a multi-million underhand deal had taken place in the allotment of land to Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) in Gurgaon and Jhajjar districts at a very cheap rate.

They alleged that the market rate of the land, which was handed over to RIL for Rs 15-21 per acre, ranged from Rs six crore to Rs 72 crore.

A total of 1715 acres of land was acquired by the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporartion (HSIDC) which was initially supposed to set up the ambitious SEZ but the government later involved RIL into the project and handed over the land to the RIL ''for peanuts,'' they pointed out in a memorandum which was submitted to the Governor.

Among the leaders who met the Governor were INLD general secretary Ajai Singh Chautala, former Finance Minister Sampat Singh and ex-INLD Haryana president Ashok Arora.

Addressing a press conference later, they also alleged that the multi-billion project was offered to the RIL without any open auction or floating of tenders. No other company was given an opportunity and no transparency was maintained with regard to the criterion on the basis of which the RIL was picked up for this project.

They expressed the hope that the Governor, being the Constitutional head of the state, would get the controversial deal cancelled and order a high-level enquiry to probe the alleged scam.

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