New Satyam board’s decision awaited on Gujarat project
By IANSSunday, January 18, 2009
GANDHINAGAR - The Gujarat government is waiting for a decision by the new board of the beleaguered Satyam Computer Services, which had committed to set up a Rs.600 million (Rs.60 crore) IT park in this state capital, an official said Monday.
‘Since Satyam Computer Services has already invested Rs.11 crore (Rs.110 million) for purchasing land for the IT park in Gandhinagar, we would like to await the decision of the new board,’ the IT department official said.
Satyam, among India’s leading IT firms, is embroiled in a controversy after its founder-chairman B. Ramalinga Raju Jan 7 admitted to committing a Rs.70 billion (Rs.7,000 crore) fraud. Its board has been replaced with six directors appointed by the central government.
The company was allocated 26 acres of land adjacent to the Offshore Development Centre (ODC) project site of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) following a commitment made by Ramalinga Raju during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit 2006 to invest Rs.600 million for setting up an ODC and a software consultancy unit.
The state government hoped the Satyam project would take off latest by 2009-10.
‘For most of fiscal 2008 there was no response from the Satyam management (on queries) regarding their seriousness about setting up the IT park,’ the official, not wishing to be identified, said.
‘We had received a request from the former Satyam board six months back that the IT park be converted into a special economic zone (SEZ). The request was under consideration for taking it up with the central government,’ he said.
There are many other IT firms waiting to establish projects in Gujarat and the state government may go ahead and allocate the land acquired by Satyam Computer Services to one of them after a due legal process if there is no response from the new Satyam board, the official said.
