Shillong, May 3: The construction company that sued the Meghalaya government for scrapping a lucrative real estate deal is close to signing a new contract to redevelop the same property as part of an out-of-court settlement. Chief minister D.D. Lapang today defended the decision to allow Asian Housing Construction Ltd (AHCL) to “rebuild” Calcutta’s Meghalaya House, saying critics of his government should realise that it is the only way to avoid paying a hefty amount as compensation.
“I am very clear about it and do not want anyone to make an issue out of it. We have to come out of the legal tangle and the only option is to settle it out of court. We do not have Rs 43 crore to give to AHCL and, therefore, we are looking at the option of allowing the company to rebuild the complex for us,” he said.
AHCL, which lost a 99-year lease on Meghalaya House as quickly as it had acquired it from the erstwhile E.K. Mawlong government, is to redevelop the property into a residential-cum-commercial complex.
Mawlong lost his chair after leasing out Meghalaya House to the company, but the lawsuit filed by AHCL thereafter became the Lapang government’s burden. The chief minister said he would not be influenced by “murmurs” into taking a decision that would create a new problem instead of solving the old one.
Sources said AHCL agreed to construct a new complex for Rs 22 crore, provided it was given an exclusive contract. Based on the arbitration tribunal’s suggestion that the dispute be settled outside the court, the company had initially offered to return the prime property on Calcutta’s Russel Street if the government paid Rs 43 crore as compensation.
The Congress-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance is expected to forward the proposal to sign a new contract with AHCL to the cabinet. Lapang made it clear that he would not take any decision on the subject without the cabinet’s nod.
“I am not afraid of what others say or what is being reported in the media about our plans, but I will certainly take my government and the cabinet into confidence before taking the decision,” the chief minister said.
Pressure from various quarters has been mounting on the government to reclaim the property. Sources said Lapang was in a dilemma because one wrong move could spark the kind of public outrage that caused the downfall of the Mawlong ministry. The feasibility of an out-of-court settlement with the AHCL was debated intensely during several cabinet meetings last year. Most of the coalition partners put their foot down, but were unable to come up with alternatives.