Imt Funds Released

The National Capital Region Planning Board last week released Rs 75 crore for acquisition of land by the Haryana government for the model industrial town in Gurgaon. Two-thirds of the money was received from Housing & Urban Development Corporation, sources said.

Another Rs 35 crore is to be pumped in by the Haryana government. -- Funds released for land acquisition in Gurgaon Officials explained that it was essential that the process of acquisition of land commenced, since the notification of the government in this regard would lapse very soon. The land acquisition is to be carried out by the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation.

Talks with the Japanese government regarding an investment of nearly Rs 1,500 crore into the project is at an advanced stage, sources said, recalling that the last round of talks could not make much headway since the price of land could not be agreed upon. It could not be confirmed when a formal decision regarding the Japanese investment would be taken.

Officials say Japanese investment in the project would help the region attract overall investments worth Rs 10,000 crore.

In August 1995, when the Maharashtra government had announced the cancellation of the Dabhol power project, the Japanese government had decided to postpone a decision on its entire investment in the model town, which is to be developed over 1,500 acres, 15 km south of Gurgaon.

Officials say another reason why the Japanese investment had been put in the cold storage was that elections to the state Assembly were due in a few months. Since the state has had a record of governments scrapping projects sanctioned by their predecessors, the Japanese probably decided to wait and watch, an official explained.