Next hearing on Vedanta land acquisition Tuesday

Monday, 23 June 2008, 19:30 IST
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Bhubaneswar: A division bench of the Orissa High Court Monday posted the next hearing of villagers' plea against land acquisition for the proposed Vedanta University in the state to Tuesday. "The bench comprising acting Chief Justice I.M. Quddusi and Justice B.N. Mohapatra heard the arguments of both parties and posted the next hearing to Tuesday," Subir Palit, one of the lawyers for petitioners, told IANS Monday. "The court posted the hearing after we argued that we received the counter-affidavit filed by Vedanta only today, and we have not examined it yet," Palit said. The Anil Agarwal Foundation, promoted by NRI industrialist and chairman of Britain's Vedanta Resources Anil Agarwal, is setting up the multi-disciplinary Vedanta University near the Konark-Puri marine drive. The university is proposed to come up in over 6,000 acres with a phased investment of 150 billion ($3.5 billion). But the project faces considerable opposition from local residents. Some people who have lost their lands have sought the intervention of the court describing the land acquisition for the project as illegal. The high court had earlier stayed land acquisition until June 23. The stay granted by the court will remain in force till the next hearing, Palit said.
Source: IANS