India’s Tata Housing slams Govt. allegations over Slave Island project

Tata Housing, the Indian real estate developer involved in a mega mixed development project at Slave Island in Colombo, on Thursday accused the Sri Lankan Government of arbitrary action over the project which it says will “adversely impact (the) confidence of overseas companies to make future investments in Sri Lanka”. Expressed ‘deep’ disappointment, it said alleged media reports quoting government authorities regarding the new government’s decision to review the project were based on allegations that are not factual in nature. “Such actions by the government discredits the authorities in Sri Lanka that have been engaging with Tata Housing over the past three and half years and have granted multiple approvals for the project based on its merit,” the company said in a statement. - MORE - Expressed ‘deep’ disappointment, it said alleged media reports quoting government authorities regarding the new government’s decision to review the project were based on allegations that are not factual in nature. “Such actions by the government discredits the authorities in Sri Lanka that have been engaging with Tata Housing over the past three and half years and have granted multiple approvals for the project based on its merit,” the company said in a statement. It said One-Colombo Project (Pvt) Ltd, subsidiary of Tata Housing Development Co Ltd, had partnered with the Urban Development Authority (UDA) to participate in the vision of the Sri Lankan Government to uplift the standards of living for inhabitants of the under-served areas in Colombo city and provide better infrastructure to the city of Colombo. Under the partnership, One-Colombo was entrusted with the re-development of eight acres of land located in Slave Island. “Under the re-development project, One-Colombo is developing around three acres of land for rehabilitation of the inhabitants in lieu of which, around four acres of land, net of areas for roads and public infrastructure, has been granted for a mixed use development project to One-Colombo,” it said. The statement said the whole process of land acquisition including negotiating with the inhabitants, payment of rental and compensation, signing of the agreements and demolition of earlier buildings was handled solely by the UDA. In accordance with the terms of the contractual understanding with UDA, One-Colombo has reimbursed the rental and compensation payment to the UDA and given guarantees to ensure completion of the redevelopment buildings. “Tata Housing assumes that before the execution of the project agreements, UDA has followed the due process which includes getting the necessary approvals from ministry, cabinet, board, chief valuer, etc. Further we also understand that land acquisition has been done as per the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act which includes publication of the various gazette notifications and vesting orders to vest the title with the UDA. Only once the title was vested in favour of the UDA, the land for re-development building and mixed development was handed over to One-Colombo in June 2014,” the statement said. “In line with the Tata group ethos, Tata Housing abides by a strict code of conduct and always acts in accordance with the laws and procedures laid out by the country it operates in. As a responsible company, we are keen to cooperate with the new government and the UDA for ensuring the long-term success of this project,” the statement said. - ENDS-