LDF Govt justifying sale of HMT land: Opposition

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 4 (UNI) Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Oommen Chandy today alleged that the Left Democratic Front Government in the State was justifying the sale of land by HMT to Blue Star Realtors Pvt Ltd to locate cyber city.

''The Government, in its affidavit in the State High Court, has said that the honourable court may be pleased to pass appropriate orders dismissing the writ petition,'' he told reporters here.

Stating that the stance taken by the Government was most unfortunate and against the interests of the public, Mr Chandy in a letter to Chief Minister V S Achutanandan asked him to take immediate steps in this regard.

The Government's contention was that the land was part of the 100 acres that had been unconditionally exempted from the provisions of the Kerala Land Reforms (KLR) Act and that the HMT was legally entitled to deal with the said 100 acres of land.

''The exemption is only for the HMT and when the land is sold, the buyer will not get the exemption,'' Mr Chandy said, adding that according to the KLR, only 15 acres of land could be held by a person or individual.

''The Blue Star has not been given exemption under the KLR Act. As such 15 acres can only be entitled to the Blue Star Pvt Ltd and the rest will remain with the Government as per the Act,'' he said, adding that this had been ignored in the affidavit.

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