Adlabs Imagica: Will land hurdle halt expansion plans?

Troubles with land are taking a toll on industry. First it was Posco, followed by ArcellorMittal and now Adlabs Imagica, a theme park near Mumbai which is tipped to be India’s answer to Disneyland.

According to a Business Standard report, the Maharashtra government has ordered a probe into the land acquisition by the theme park.

The probe comes just a month afterowner Manmohan Shetty decided to take the risk and bet big on Imagica. In June _Firstpost_ had reported that Shetty is looking to raise $50 million in funding and is likely to look at an IPO to fund its expansion plans. The company wanted to open a second theme park in Hyderabad in two years.

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[caption id=“attachment_988227” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Picture: Vikas Khot/Forbes India[/caption]

But his expansion plans may be put on hold as the Maharashtra state government hasordered an inquiry into allegations of acquisition of land under duress and through encroachment of land owned by tribals and other villagers, a BS report said today.

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“_The completion of the theme park - owned by Shetty’s Adlabs - located near Khopoli, about 90 km from Mumbai, has taken five years. Only 110 acres of the 300 acres acquired for the park will be used for the rides, the water park, a 300-room hotel and other things. The rest has been set aside for further development or expansio_n,” the report added. ( Read the full BS report here)

Shetty conceived the idea of a theme park way back in 2008 after he had sold Adlabs Films to Anil Ambani but the park was opened only in April this year.

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Adlabs Imagica features 21 original attractions.Spread across 110 acres, it was built at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore and is still a work-in-progress. While Shetty had expected to get between 2 and 3 million visitors to the park a year little did he know his dream project will be thwarted by doubts over compliance with the prescribed environmental norms.