Dehradun, Sept. 14 -- The political controversy over the proposed leasing of government land in Uttarakhand has intensified, with the state government rejecting as "factually incorrect" Congress allegations that more than 7,000 bighas of government land had been made available to the Uttarakhand Infrastructure and Investment Development Board (UIIDB) for corporate investment. Principal Secretary (Planning) and UIIDB managing director R Meenakshi Sundaram said only 45 acres of identified land had so far been made available to the board. He clarified that neither 7,000 bighas of land had been handed over to the UIIDB nor was there any ongoing process to acquire such an extent of land. Uttarakhand Congress alleged on Saturday that the government was preparing to lease valuable government land to large corporate houses at the expense of the rights of local people and unemployed youth. Sundaram said questions had recently been raised about the functioning of the UIIDB by independent media outlets and on public forums, making it necessary to place accurate information before the public to avoid confusion and misconceptions. "The claim regarding UIIDB receiving 7,000 bighas of land is untrue. The Board has neither received such an extent of land nor made any attempt to acquire it. To date, only 45 acres of the identified land have been made available to UIIDB," he said. According to Sundaram, the UIIDB was established with the objective of encouraging capital investment, creating employment opportunities and ensuring the planned and economical utilisation of available government land and resources, particularly in the service sector. He said the state government had set a target of doubling the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) over the next five years and that achieving this would require higher capital investment, employment generation and infrastructure development. A large number of investment proposals were received during the investor summit held in the state, he said, adding that suitable land, infrastructure and other facilities would be necessary to convert those proposals into actual projects. While institutional mechanisms such as SIDCUL are already functioning to promote investment in industrial and manufacturing sectors, the UIIDB has been created to facilitate large-scale investment in tourism, hospitality, wellness, education, healthcare, IT and other service sectors, Sundaram said. He said Uttarakhand had significant potential to emerge as a major tourism and wellness destination and that investment was required in high-quality hotels, resorts, wellness centres and other tourism-related facilities. The state also had the potential to develop as a major wedding destination, similar to Jaipur and Udaipur, he said. Such investments, according to the government, would have benefits beyond the primary projects by generating activity for local businesses, transport operators, hotels, homestays, catering services, handicrafts and local products, he said....