The Supreme Court on Friday fixed its interim hearing during the first week of February on an interim appeal filed by the Anil Agarwal Foundation regarding the proposed Vedanta University in Puri.
While accepting the interim appeal on the university project, a three-member Bench of the SC headed by the Chief Justice upheld the directive of the Orissa High Court pronounced in 2011 on the project.
In its application, the Anil Agarwal Foundation had asked for a hearing this month.
The High Court had quashed land acquisition for the university project terming the procedures as illegal. The Odisha government and the project authorities have challenged the High Court decision.
Congress leader Umaballav Rath had filed the first plea in the HC challenging the project, which was envisaged on 500 acres of ‘temple land’. The petition said the project would cause extreme debilitating impact on the ecosystem.
The Union Environment Ministry also put on hold the controversial Rs 150-billion university project following complaints of alleged irregularities.
The multidisciplinary university is proposed to come up along the Puri-Konark marine drive highway spread over 6,892 acres.