The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has found deficiencies in land allotment procedures in Telangana, leaving vast stretches of allotted land untapped for development by IT companies.

“Land allotments were recommended based on applications by the firms. However, no method was prescribed to assess the extent of land actually required by the firms. As a result, IT firms retained or held the allotted land without full development or utilisation,” the CAG said in its report on Telangana finances in 2016-17, released on Thursday.

For one, Infosys did not take up development in 296 acres (Phase II and III) out of the 446 acres allotted in May 2007. Wipro utilised only nine out of the 101 acres at Gopanapally allotted to it in June 2007, leaving 92 acres of the land idle without any development.

“No investments were stipulated in respect of four firms (Brahmani Infratech, Honeywell Technology, Taksheel Solutions and Linus Infotec). Wipro did not invest the amounts proposed by it, indicating lack of commitment. Nanotech failed to bring in any investment,” it pointed out.

The CAG said the government had accepted the audit observations. “They said it was done in order to attract multinational companies. Infosys had submitted its development plans for approval, while Wipro was being served with a show-cause notice calling for its plan,” it said.

The Department did not monitor development of infrastructure by IT firms in respect of land already allotted. The IT firms held the land allotted without development for years.

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