Denying allegations of purchase of land at concessional rates in Gujarat, presumably leveled by Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal earlier this month, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Wednesday said more than 90% of land for its plants in the state was acquired at more than the market rates.
In a statement here, RIL spokesperson Umesh Upadhyay rubbished the charges as “baseless” and without any substance. “One allegation that is making rounds is that Gujarat Government bought cheap land from farmers and gave it to RIL at concessional rates. However, the facts are completely opposite.
“We would like to make it absolutely clear that more than 90% of land that we acquired for our plants in Gujarat have been bought directly from farmers. The price that we paid to the farmers was more than the market rates. We have not violated any rules in the process of acquiring land and all rules have been followed. “
He said thousands of farmers of Gujarat were RIL’s partners in the process of industrialization, whose families have benefitted.
“Some politicians have been making unsubstantiated statements against Reliance for grabbing attention and instant mileage. They tend to make sweeping statements for instant gratification without corroborative evidence.”
On Tuesday, the Gujarat Government, too, had also denied various allegations leveled by Kejriwal about the state’s development claims.