Orissa moves apex court on proposed Vedanta university
By IANSWednesday, December 15, 2010
BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Wednesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the state high court’s order quashing land acquisition for the proposed Vedanta University in Puri.
“Today (Wednesday) the state government has filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court,” Revenue Minister Surya Narayan Patro informed the state assembly.
The Orissa High Court Nov 16 quashed the process of land acquisition for the proposed university in Puri, some 60 km from here. It directed the government to return the acquired land to its owners.
The high court passed the order in response to petitions filed by people who lost their lands to the project. They sought the intervention of the court, describing the land acquisition as illegal.
The Anil Agarwal Foundation, promoted by non-resident Indian industrialist and chairman of Britain’s Vedanta Resources Anil Agarwal, planned to set up a multi-disciplinary university spread over 6,000 acres of land, with a phased investment of Rs.150 billion ($3.5 billion).
Opposition parties have demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the issue.
The opposition has been demanding the resignation of the chief minister in the assembly since its winter session started Nov 23.
