Naidu got huge kickbacks in Infotech City deal: Congress

Three top Congress leaders have alleged that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu received millions of rupees as kickbacks for awarding the Infotech City project construction work to Larsen and Toubro.

P Janardhan Reddy, M Kodanda Reddy and K R Suresh Reddy alleged that the government was reluctant to disclose details of the agreement signed between the Bombay-based firm and the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation.

Ironically, the APIIC's share in the joint venture is 11 per cent, with the rest is with L&T. What is more, the partners are investing only Rs 15 billion though the project cost is Rs 165 billion -- L&T proposes to construct 6,000,000 sq ft at the rate of Rs 2,750 per sq ft, the leaders said.

They also said the government should get a 40 per cent share in the project as it is providing land, water and interrupted power supply besides a four-way road between Madhapur and Hyderabad airport.

The government should explain why it has agreed to a paltry share in the project, the Congress leaders said, questioning the haste with which the land for the project was alienated.

Within five days of Naidu assuming office two years ago, 158 acres of land was alienated at the rate of Rs 400 per sq yard. The fact that the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority auctioned land at Rs 3,000 per sq yard in the same area was conveniently overlooked, the leaders alleged.