VIJAYAWADA: Responding to allegations made by former MP Kesineni Srinivas (Nani) over the allotment of 60 acres of land to it in Visakhapatnam, Ursa Clusters Pvt Ltd on Tuesday firmly denied all charges, calling them politically motivated, and factually baseless.
The company, which is setting up a Rs 5,728-crore AI hyperscale data center in the State, said the project is being developed with complete transparency and due diligence.
Nani had written to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, questioning the land allotment to Ursa, what he described as a newly floated and inexperienced firm, and accused sitting Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath (Chinni) of being the hidden force behind it.
Responding to the allegations of Nani, Ursa representatives held a virtual press conference, stating that the company underwent a five-level vetting process over the past five months by government agencies, institutional partners, and industry experts.
“The project has a clearly defined investment structure, and the State has government approved it only after verifying every detail,” said Satish Abburi, one of directors of Ursa from the USA.
On the charge that the land was allotted to Ursa at a throwaway price, he clarified that they offered Rs 1 crore per acre for 3.5 acres in the IT Park, and Rs 50 lakh per acre for the remaining 56.36 acres at Kapuluppada. “No land was given to us for 99 paise as alleged by Nani,” he clarified.
Ursa promoter Jay Thalluri, speaking from the USA, said, “We have a long-standing presence in the real estate sector in America. Our interest in Andhra Pradesh is limited to data center, not to exploring real estate. We approached other States and countries before coming here, and we were invited by the Andhra Pradesh government.”
He said, “It is unfortunate that some are trying to mislead the public by questioning the legitimacy of the company. Yes, Ursa is a new company, but it is backed by experienced professionals and global investors. We have been speaking to investors for over a year. Starting a new company is natural when launching a project of this scale.”
Jay Thalluri also took strong exception to what he called a malicious propaganda against Ursa. “Making baseless allegations without understanding our background only damages the image of the State. This project will create over 2,000 jobs, and help build a startup ecosystem around the AI hyperscale data center,” he said.
The project will be implemented in three phases over six years with an estimated investment of Rs 5,000 crore.
“If anyone wants to know who we are or what our capabilities are, we are ready to meet or explain. But if such misinformation continues, it will only demotivate companies from investing in AP,” he said, urging political leaders not to undermine the State’s progress for their short-term gains.
Another Director of Ursa, Erich Warner from the USA, reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and job creation.
However they admitted that Satish Abburi is a college mate of Sivanath,
They are also investing in Telangana for a data center, and clarified that MP Sivanath is not a partner of Ursa. Regarding the website, the representatives said they are having a website on Ursa Clouds.com not Ursa Clusters.
When TNIE tried to contact MP Sivanath for his response to the allegations made by his brother and former MP Kesineni Nani, he was not available.