Date: 06-06-1998 :: Pg: 02 :: Col: a

Our Senior Correspondent

HYDERABAD, June 5

THE `topping out' ceremony of the multi-storeyed building complex at the L & T Hi-Tec City, which was scheduled to be performed in the presence of the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Friday, was cancelled at the eleventh hour.

The ceremony for the first phase of the Rs. 1,500- crore project, coming up in a sprawling 158-acre site at Madhapur in Hyderabad, would have marked the completion of structural works of the crown-shaped building developed to house infotech industries.

According to Government and company officials, the ceremony was cancelled ``because the Chief Executive Officer of L & T, Mr. S.D. Kulkarni, was abroad.'' The official explanation has come in as a surprise after so much fanfare had gone into the entire exercise. The Opposition feels that it is an excuse to cover up several lacunae in the project.

The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader, Mr. P. Janardhan Reddy, maintains that the company had flouted several norms and does not have necessary permissions to complete the project. He contended that the project does not have clearances from the Airports' Authority of India, the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority and the Fire Services.

``With certain permissions yet to be received for the project, the Chief Minister, worried about drawing flak from the Opposition, might have decided against associating himself with the topping out ceremony,'' Mr. Reddy said.

The ceremony was cancelled late Thursday night. In fact, invitees, including journalists, turned up at the venue unaware of the development. It is learnt that the ceremony would now be held later in the month.

Global software giants such as Microsoft Corporation, Oracle, Sun Micro Systems and Metamor Solutions are expected to take office space in the Hi-Tec City premises.

The joint venture project, L & T Infocity Ltd, between L & T Ltd and Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd (APIIC) with equity of 89:11 per cent, was launched in April 1997. The project is expected to be completed by July and would be ready for occupation by October, much ahead of schedule.

The Department of Telecommunications and Tata Teleservices would offer telecom services and the connectivity to the software companies would be provided by the Software Technology Parks of India and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd.

Pic. caption: A `model' office in the L & T Hi-Tec City in Hyderabad.

Pic. by: A Roy Chowdhury