Wipro accepts Rajarhat land offfer

KOLKATA: IT giant Wipro has accepted West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) offer of 50 acres of land at Rajarhat at Rs 1.5 crore an acre, though Infosys is yet to respond to the offer.
State housing minister Gautam Deb, who is Hidco's chairman, said on Saturday that the land will be formally handed over to Wipro next month. "Wipro has accepted our offer and we will hand them the land by next month.We are in touch with Wipro chief Azim Premji and a date for a meeting with him and the state government will be fixed in the next three-four days," Deb said.
Deb, however, said the other IT giant, Infosys, is yet to respond to Hidco's offer. Infosys, incidentally, has also been promised 50 acres at Rajarhat at the same price.
Hidco managing director Saurabh Das said that an offer letter will soon be sent to Wipro. "We had communicated to Wipro on the land price and they have accepted the offer. We will complete the process of handing over the land to them soon," he said.
Hidco's board met on Wednesday and decided to fix the price of land at Rs 1.5 crore an acre the price offered to TCS for the 50-acre plots offered to Wipro and Infosys in Rajarhat's Action Area III.
After the Vedic Village scam, following which the much-touted IT hub project adjacent to the spot was scrapped, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee himself decided to offer 45 acre each to Wipro and Infosys at Rajarhat, later increased to 50 acres. Both plots are located in Hatishala mouza and lie off Rajarhat's arterial road, leading to the airport. "The land has been fully acquired by us," said a Hidco official.