TATAs Say Company Not Responsible For Any Flaws In Deal

Sri Lanka-registered TATA housing company "One Colombo", whose USD 430 million project in Sri Lanka is being reviewed by the new government, said that it has nothing to do with those aspects of the agreement which the government is objecting to, The New Indian Express reported.

“The entire process of land acquisition, including negotiating with the inhabitants, payment of rental and compensation, signing of agreements, and demolition of earlier buildings, was handled solely by the Urban Development Authority (UDA),” Sri Lanka’s Daily FT quoted a company spokesperson as saying.

The company said that ‘One Colombo’ had thereafter reimbursed the rental and compensation payments to the UDA. The company had got its design of the complexes reviewed by the UDA several times over a two year period.

The company was to build 100 commercial units and 500 dwelling units housed in three towers, each unit bigger and more modern than the houses the inhabitants were living in earlier.

The company said that it had proceeded with the project assuming that the UDA had got the necessary clearances from the various ministries, the cabinet, the Chief Valuer and the Board of Investment. It had also assumed that land had been acquired as per the Lankan Acquisition Act. ‘One Colombo’ got access to the land in June 2014 only after it had been legally vested in the UDA.

The company had undertaken to invest USD 429.5 million over eight to ten years with an FDI of USD 130 million over this period. A considerable amount has already been invested in the project.

Earlier, Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Rajitha Senaratne stated that the project is being reviewed because the compensation was inadequate. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake charged that the TATAs had promised to invest over USD 200 million but only USD 20 million had come in. He also said that the TATAs had acquired land only to sell it back at a higher rate.
(With inputs from The New Indian Express)