The Odisha government on Wednesday announced that the land acquired for the proposed world-class university of Vedanta Limited will be returned to its owners.

Minister of revenue and disaster management Suresh Pujari said, “Based on the court’s verdict, we have decided to return the land acquired for the proposed Vedanta University to the land owners. The landowners who have received the compensation need to return the compensation amount to the state government. The modalities for the return of the land will be decided in a day or two.”

The Anil Agarwal Foundation (AAF) had signed an MoU with the Odisha government on July 19, 2006, to set up a world-class university on the Puri-Konark Marine road with an investment of ₹15,000 crore that would be on a par with “Stanford, Oxford and Harvard”. The AAF had earlier announced an endowment of $1 billion for the university.

The state government had initiated land acquisition proceedings for the university between December 13, 2006 and August 21, 2007.

Over the years, no progress was made on the project. Later, the people approached the court challenging the construction of the university and demanding their land back. The case reached the Supreme Court, which gave its nod to returning the land to the land owners.

Pujari said, “The state government acquired the land for the proposed university. As many as 4178.84 acres of privately owned land were awarded for the construction of the university. The possession of 3342.53 acres of land out of that was given to the AnilAgrawal Foundation.”

The minister said, “Nine landowners had approached the Orissa High Court on the issue. The Court also expressed its dismay as no progress was made on the issue and with how the land acquisition was made for the university. It also raised questions about the frequent change of name of the university.”

The revenue minister said, “The High Court in 2009 had nullified the land acquisition process for the university project. In 2010, the High Court quashed the acquisition and directed Vedanta to return the land to its owners. The Anil Agarwal Foundation had challenged the High Court’s verdict in the Supreme Court. Later, the Apex Court upheld the High Court’s order on April 12, 2023.”

The minister added, “The land would be returned to all the land owners, whether they filed for return or not. Once they return the compensation, corrections will be made in the land records to ensure that the land is returned to the right owner.”

The minister explained the detailed process: “The government would also take back the land leased out to the Anil Agarwal Foundation.”

President of Naba Niraman Krushak Sangathan, a farmer’s organisation, Akshay Kumar told The Telegraph, “Even after the Supreme Court ordered the return of the land in 2023, the state government failed to take any initiative. We later approached the High Court on the issue. The High Court intervened and now the state government has come out with this announcement.”