‘Exclusive private property’: Azim Premji declines Siddaramaiah’s request for road access through Wipro campus
Azim Premji also said that allowing public vehicular movement through Wipro’s campus would create "significant legal, governance, and statutory challenges."
Wipro founder chairman Azim Premji has declined Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah’s request to allow limited vehicular movement through the company’s campus in the state capital Bengaluru, saying that it is an “exclusive private property owned by a listed company”, not meant for public thoroughfare.
He also said that allowing public vehicular movement through Wipro’s Sarjapur campus would create "significant legal, governance, and statutory challenges."
“With respect to the specific suggestion of allowing public vehicular movement through our Sarjapur campus, we apprehend significant legal, governance, and statutory challenges since it is an exclusive private property owned by a listed company, not intended for public thoroughfare,” Premji's letter to the CM, accessed by HT, read.
The letter also pointed out that the campus was a Special Economic Zone, whose contractual obligations mandate stringent, non-negotiable access control norms for governance and compliance.
“That apart, it will also be appreciated that our Sarjapur campus is a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) providing services to global customers; our contractual conditions mandate stringent, non-negotiable access control norms for governance and compliance. Moreover, public vehicular movement through a private property would not be effective as a sustainable, long-term solution,” the letter further stated.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah had written to Premji on September 19 to explore "the possibility of allowing limited vehicular movement through the Wipro campus, subject to mutually agreed terms and necessary security considerations." However, Wipro has offered to support a comprehensive, scientific study led by an entity with world-class expertise in urban transport management.
“Wipro stands committed to partner with the Government of Karnataka to find a lasting solution for Bengaluru's mobility challenges. The complexity of Bengaluru’s traffic problem, stemming from multiple factors, suggests that there is unlikely to be a single point solution to resolve it,” the company said in a statement to the media.
"We believe the most effective path forward is to commission a comprehensive, scientific study led by an entity with world-class expertise in urban transport management. Such an exercise would allow us to develop a holistic roadmap of effective solutions that are implementable in the short, medium, and long term. To demonstrate our commitment to being a part of the solution, Wipro will be pleased to engage in this process and support in conducting this expert study,” the statement added.
