By IANS,
New Delhi : The Supreme Court Friday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to review its order cancelling allotment of 14 plots to various hoteliers in 2006 in Noida, on the outskirts of the national capital, in the run-up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
A bench of Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice L.S. Panta asked the Uttar Pradesh industrial development secretary to review the cancellation order after hearing the hospitality majors, including ITC, Royal Orchid and Clarkston Hotels which were allotetd the plots to build hotels.
The bench directed the Uttar Pradesh government to take a decision on cancellation or allotment of plots to hoteliers “without any prejudice and on merit.”
The bench also asked hoteliers not to undertake any construction works at the site or sell any part of the plots to any third party.
After issuing the direction, the bench adjourned the hearing on a bunch of lawsuits by various hospitality majors to September 9.
Various hospitality majors were allotted land in Noida by then Mulayam Singh Yadav government in 2006 to build hotels to meet the requirements of international visitors to Delhi during the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
But the allotments were subsequently cancelled by present Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati. She scrapped the allotments citing corruption in land auctions.
The hoteliers earlier challenged the cancellation of plot allotments before the Allahabad High Court, contending that the Mayawati government had taken a “unilateral and politically biased decision without going into the merits of allotment”.
The high court suspended the Mayawati government’s decision and asked it to take a fresh decision after hearing the hoteliers.
The hoteliers, in turn, moved the apex court contending that it would be futile to go back to the state government to present their case as “the hearing in such a case would be illusory”.
But with the Uttar Pradesh government’s counsel assuring the bench that it will “review the case with an open mind”, the apex court bench asked the hoteliers to represent their case before the government.