Uncertainty Looms Over Ursa Clusters Project in Andhra Pradesh

This is now the hot topic among the administrative and political circles in Andhra Pradesh. Questions are being raised because, despite cabinet approval for this project, the government has not yet issued a G.O. (Government Order), leading to suspicions. It is well known that there was widespread criticism regarding the proposal to allocate hundreds of crores worth of land in Visakhapatnam to the newly formed company Ursa Clusters Private Limited — which has no prior experience in the IT sector or data center management — at a very low cost. This even created a stir at the national level. Although the promoters of this company have experience in the IT field, it is worth noting that the AP cabinet decided to allocate 60 acres (in two locations) in Visakhapatnam to a company that was incorporated only two months ago. The proposal was to allocate 3.5 acres in Rushikonda Hill No. 3 and 56.5 acres in Kapuluppada.

However, when controversy arose, the company officially stated that it had requested the land in Rushikonda at ₹1 crore per acre and the Kapuluppada land at ₹50 lakhs per acre. Just last month, in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chandrababu Naidu, approval was granted for land allocation to both TCS and Ursa Clusters. This was also announced in a media briefing. While the G.O. for TCS was issued, the G.O. for Ursa Clusters has still not been released. This delay has now raised the key question of whether the company has withdrawn from its investment proposal in Andhra Pradesh or if the government has backed off from the land allocation.

Another crucial aspect here is that during his first term as IT Minister, Nara Lokesh brought Innova Solutions, along with Franklin Templeton, into the spotlight. Back then, the cabinet decided to allocate 40 acres jointly to these two companies. Although the then Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar reportedly said there was no need to allocate 40 acres to that company, the cabinet still approved it. The then IT Department Principal Secretary, K. Vijayanand, issued a G.O. allocating 40 acres jointly to Franklin Templeton and Innova Solutions. The issuance of a single G.O. for both companies at that time caused a major controversy. As the issue surrounding Innova Solutions intensified, the allocation plan was altered, and the entire 40 acres were allotted solely to Franklin Templeton. Interestingly, Franklin Templeton itself had requested only 25 acres. Yet, orders were issued to allocate 40 acres to the company in two phases.

This means that back then, the Franklin Templeton–Innova Solutions controversy involved Nara Lokesh and Vijayanand in the IT Department. What’s notable now is that the same two individuals are involved again in the Ursa Clusters controversy. The only difference is that Vijayanand, who was the IT Department’s Principal Secretary then, is now the Chief Secretary. Official circles say that the two have maintained a strong relationship since that time.