IT PARK IN THE EYE OF STORM New Rules To Cause Heavy Losses To Govt Arvind Singh Bisht | TNN Lucknow: UP mining minister Babu Singh Kushwaha has become a mine of controversy himself. His clout is evident from the fact that as chairman of the UP State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA) he has brought the authority directly under the mining ministry, which has actually not much to do with industrial development. In fact, the UPSIDA was conceived in 2001 to perform the task of the UP State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC). Since the UPSIDC was governed by the Companies Act, it was not found industry-friendly. Besides being open to the scrutiny by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the UPSIDC also had nominees of the Central government on its board which was never a happy proposition for the state government. This is why the government decided to convert it into an authority with the objective of making it a selfcontained body, empowered to acquire land and grant permission for changing the land use. All this was done under the UP Industrial Area Development Act 1970 and the industrial development commissioner (IDC) was made its chairman. However, Kushwaha got the Act amended to become chairman of a regulatory body like the UPSIDA in utter disregard of norms and practices of governance. In order to enjoy unbridled power, he also brought it directly under his control by making it accountable to his mining ministry. What has raised eyebrows is the decision taken by the UPSIDA to allow construction of an IT Park on plot number 37/1, site four in Sahibabad in Ghaziabad district. The plot was allocated for setting up industries at subsidised rate of around Rs 6,000 per square metre as against the market price ranging from Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh/square metre. As per rules, according to a senior official, permission for the IT park could have been given only after taking conversion charges for the change in the land use and recovering the market price from the owner of the plot. However, in this case the UPSIDA had allowed construction of the IT Park after recovering only additional Rs 15,000 per square metre. The difference between the market price (Rs 80,000 per sq m) and the recovered price was Rs 65,000 per square metre. Thus, the loss suffered by the UPSIDA, according to the Centre for Transparency Governance (CTG), was to the tune of Rs 130 crore. While demanding a CBI inquiry into the scam, the CTG alleged that the deal for the IT park involved irregularities involving the high and mighty. In a letter written to Union minister for urban development Jaipal Reddy, the CTG said that the permission for the IT park had also been granted without seeking clearance from the National Capital Region (NCR) Planning Board, which is a prerequisite for all areas falling in its ambit. UPSIDA under cloud Lucknow: But this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are a large number of such proposals pending before the UPSIDA. In these proposals, official sources confide, change in the land use has been sought for the industrial plots purchased at Rs 6,000 per square metre or less. Their owners are now keen to deviate from their stated purpose of setting up industries and use them commercially. Since UPSIDA is already under cloud for relaxing rules for recovering the market price, the loss expected is estimated to be well over Rs 1,000 crore.