Notice period served to Hero Honda in Uttarakhand expires

The notice period served to auto major Hero Honda by the Uttarakhand government for paying the cost of 94.486 acres of land in Haridwar industrial estate expired today.

However, State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIDCUL) officials said that they would take action in this regard at the appropriate time.

Hero Honda and its ancillaries were alloted 265 acres of land for setting up their plants at the Haridwar industrial estate in 2006 at the rate of Rs 1,000 per square meter.

After getting the possession, the company set up its plant on 119.74 acres of land and gave 50.774 acres of land to its ancillaries. The company paid the full amount for 119.74 acres of land and also an earnest money for the remaining 145.26 acres of land at the rate of Rs 2 lakh per acre, the officials said.

Though its ancillaries also paid the cost for 50.774 acres of land, the officials said, the company did not pay for the remaining 94.486 acres of land. This amount is nearly Rs 50 crore, they said.
    
The officials said Hero Honda's contention that because it developed parks and other infrastructural facilities for its ancillaries on the land exempts it from paying the amount cannot be accepted.

Moreover, they said, another auto giant Tata Motors has also developed park and roads for its ancillaries but it has paid the money for the full land alloted to them.