Friday, December 16 2005 14:23 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: The Madras High Court today (Dec 16, 2005) issued notice to Tamil Nadu government on a petition filed by DMK seeking a CBI probe into the sale of 103 acres of land on the city outskirts to a Singapore-based company, allegedly at a throw-away price resulting in a loss of Rs 190.55 crore to the exchequer.

Issuing the notice on a petition filed by DMK Treasurer Arcot N Veersamy, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice M Jayachandran, posted the petition for hearing on December 23.

The petition was filed on Wednesday charging the AIADMK government with violating established procedures and granting liberal concessions to Singapore Realty Private Ltd and sought an interim injunction to restrain the government from handing over the land for constructing residential flats.

The petitioner contended that he had reliably learnt that the state government had sold 103 acres of land belonging to the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) for Rs 15 lakh per acre against the prevailing market rate of Rs Two crore per acre.

The petitioner claimed that a perusal of the various clauses in the agreement between the Singapore firm and the state government would reveal the 'dubious nature' of the contract.