Cuttack, Sept. 29: Controversy over the giving away of surplus land of Orissa State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) at Badambadi here to Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) took a new turn today with the Orissa High Court asking the state government to explore possible alternative lands in the city for the Mukesh Ambani–owned company.

The government had leased out 3.7 acres of surplus OSRTC land in the Badambadi-Palamandap area to RIL for setting up a retail complex.

But leasing out of the prime land triggered a controversy with some prominent citizens including Annada Prasad Ray and M.Q. Khan opposing it under the banner of Cuttack Banchao Committee (CBC). The issue reached the high court with Subash Singh, convener of CBC, filing a PIL.

Replying to notices issued by the high court, the OSRTC had, in its affidavit, justified its decision and rebuffed all charges that the move was not in public interest.

The land was leased out as part of a decision to give away surplus land of OSRTC in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur and Baripada to RIL on 33-year lease for setting up retail complexes. The amount realised from the deal had been proposed to be invested for procurement of buses and modernisation of bus stations across the state, OSRTC had stated in its affidavit.

During the course of hearing since yesterday Advocate General Ashok Mohanty maintained that “it was a policy decision of the government”.

The petitioner counsel however, pointed out that the government the commerce and transport department had cancelled leasing out of OSRTC land to RIL in Berhampur bowing to pressure from students of Khalikote College. The land had been allotted to the college for its expansion project.

“Taking note of it the two judge bench of Chief Justice V.Gopal Gowda and Justice Indrajeet Mohanty today asked the state government to come up with possible alternative sites and issued orders for listing of the case after Puja vacation”, petitioner counsel Asim Amitav Das told The Telegraph.

“Our basic contention has been that the Badambadi-Palamandap area is the busiest hub of the city where parking area had become an increasing necessity to ease congestion. So there is no rationale for OSRTC to parcel out surplus land to private parties for putting up retail complex”, Das said.

The government had purchased 50 acres from the local people in Badambadi-Palamandap area in 1970s and planned a bus terminus to accommodate traffic for the next 100 years. Accordingly, a bus station had come up in the area in 1978 and expansion of the terminus had since been undertaken in different phases with growing population demands.

The bus terminus at Badambadi-Palamandap area had since grown into biggest of its kind in the state with more than 1200 hundred passenger buses plying daily to different locations and an equal number touching en route from different locations. Besides, hundreds of town buses and auto-rickshaws connecting different destinations from the area, but there was acute shortage of parking area.

The Cuttack Chamber of Commerce (CCC) had demanded a roll back in the government decision The surplus lands of OSRTC available at Badambadi can be converted to bus parking area, vending zone and market complex constructed either by Cuttack Development Authority or Cuttack Municipal Corporation and leased out to traders”, the Chamber had suggested while opposing leasing out land to RIL.