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Several information technology companies which got hold of government land in Madhapur promising to create thousands of jobs have instead rented out their premises to other companies.
While some firms handed over the land to big construction companies to create more space for renting, others shifted to smaller buildings in other parts of the city and rented their prime space in the Hitec city area to top IT companies.
All these companies are coolly earning crores of rupees as rent and many have also been allowed to register the lands in their name.
Inquiries by this correspondent revealed that companies such as Vanenburg, I Labs, Ananth Technologies, Softsol, Softpro and SQL have rented out their premises to others.
A construction firm Ascendas acquired 8.5 lakh sq ft in the 20-acre Vanenburg IT Park and rented it out to Cognizant Technologies, Computer Associates, SSA Global and Motorola.
I Labs rented out its premises to GE and the Hyundai Research and Development Centre. Ananth Technologies gave 1.5 lakh square feet to two IT companies on rent while operating its own business from three independent buildings in Jubilee Hills.
These companies had been given land under the IT policy provision that they should create certain number of jobs within a stipulated period.
“The companies should create 300 jobs for every acre they had taken in specific timeframe,” said a senior official of the IT and communication department. “The land will be registered in the company’s name if it creates the promised jobs.” Though these companies had presented statistics on annual employment creation, no effort has been made to find out whether these claims were true. It is suspected that the figures include employment by companies which had been given space on rent.
By making these claims, the companies were not only able to register the land in their name but were also able to recover the entire construction cost within a few years by collecting huge rents.
“We have fulfilled our obligations both in terms of job creation and built up area as per the MoU signed with APIIC,” said I Labs general manager G. Ramesh.
“Since we are a holding company we are meeting our obligations through the companies in which we hold more than 26 per cent shareholding.” The company initially constructed 2.5 lakh sq ft and subsequently added another 2 lakh sq ft. “The company also got the land registered under its name after fulfilling the employment obligation,” he said. Some companies defended themselves by saying that they were doing what everyone else was doing. “Most of the companies which availed land are doing the same thing,” said Mr Brahmanandam of SoftSol. APIIC had entered into an agreement with Ananth Technologies on April 21, 2004, for 3.11 acres, with a condition that the company should create 1,000 jobs in five years. However, P Subba Rao, managing director of Ananth Technologies, admitted that he had leased out more than 1 lakh sq ft to two other companies. He also said that the monthly rents range from Rs 25 to Rs 35 per sq ft. Mr Subba Rao said they would soon shift to their premises near Hitec city from Jubilee Hills. “Though 1 lakh sq ft is sufficient we are building double the space keeping in mind future requirements,” he said.
Officials of the IT and Communication (IT&C) department as well as APIIC have remained mute spectators to this double game played by the companies. “If they rent out premises, then it could have been given to a real estate company in the first place,” quipped an official.
When contacted, IT&C secretary K. Ratna Prabha said that the government was aware of such practices and would take action. She also said that the government would verify the employment particulars submitted by the companies.
SOURCES:
Deccan Chronicle
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