A Rs 250-crore land deal in Bengaluru between tech major Infosys and real estate company Puravankara has come under scrutiny in recent days. Amid speculation over the sale of the 53.56-acre parcel, and suggestions that it was part of the land allotted by the Karnataka government, preventing its sale, sources in the Industries Department said the parcel was not allotted to Infosys by the government.
“The land sold was private land. Whatever the government allotted, they (Infosys) have used themselves,” a source in the Industries Department told The Indian Express Monday.
The sale pertains to land bearing survey numbers 92/3 and 92/6 at Arehalli village near Attibele, which was sold on December 20 this year. Purva Blue Home Ventures Private Limited, a venture by Puravankara, acquired the property.
Transaction records showed that the software giant had acquired the land five years ago from Sobha Developers and others associated with the parcel. While the market value of the land was Rs 30.93 lakh, the consideration amount during the transaction was Rs 4.28 crore.
The land is located close to Phase 2 of Electronic City, where Infosys was allotted four plots of land between 1998 to 2002, which include 56,959.9 acres allotted in 1998 in survey numbers 4/1,2,3,4 and 26/1,2, 32,400 acre in 1999 in survey numbers 8-P, 44-P, 92-P and 93-P, 8,046 acre in survey number 9-Part and 16,191 acre in 2002 in survey number 7-Part.
According to the records, the sale deeds, which granted companies the freedom to sell the land, were issued to the allottees by the government on March 14, 2006. The four plots are among the other parcels of land that Infosys has received from the Karnataka government in other parts of the state over the years.
“Even if the government allots the land, it has no control over the property once a sale deed is executed,” the source said, noting that the deed is issued only after the proposed project on the land is completed.
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The issue gained social media attention after reports of the Rs 250-crore deal between Infosys and Puravankara. Among those posting about the issue was Congress leader Karti P Chidambaram, who said, “If the land was given at a concession for a specific purpose & the land wasn’t utilised for that purpose, Infosys has no right to sell it for a commercial rate today. Return the land & proceeds to the Government of Karnataka.”
This triggered a social media debate over companies selling off the land allotted to them by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board.
Following the reports, Infosys issued a statement saying that the land was not allotted to it by the government and that it had acquired it in the open market.