Chennai, March 13: The DMK today accused the Jayalalithaa government of violating the model code of conduct by doling out land at huge concessions to at least five software firms.

The DMK, the main Opposition in Tamil Nadu, has urged the Election Commission to depute a team to the state and take action against the violations.

Several government orders extending different types of concessions have been “ante-dated” and passed in haste after the poll code came into effect, DMK president M. Karunanidhi said today.

These include allocation of land to five software and related companies near Chennai ? 20 acres to Cognizant Technology, 25 acres to Mega Soft, 50 acres to Advanced Software, 25 acres to Benchmark Softtek and three acres to Protonet BPO ?for a knowledge and IT park at Sholinganallur, 30 km from the city, he added.

The companies were not available for comments but government officials dismissed the charges as baseless.

Karunanidhi said that according to the information available with him, the plots have been allotted to the companies at the rate of Rs 48 lakh an acre when the prevailing market rate is Rs 4 crore for each acre. “The decision of the state government hastily taken in violation of the model code is causing a huge loss of Rs 375 crore to the public exchequer,” he said in a statement to the poll panel.

He also alleged that a bank had been “arbitrarily” appointed consultant for the IT park without calling any tenders.

IT companies alone are not the beneficiaries of the backdated orders. Under one such order from the industries department, an oil company has been permitted to use the Cuddalore port, under the state’s control, Karunanidhi said.

Another order from the backward classes and the most backward classes department provides for financial assistance of Rs 10,000 for each student selected for higher studies. Although the order had been issued only on March 3, it has been dated March 1.

The model code of conduct came into effect from the evening of March 1 after the Election Commission announced the poll schedule.

CPI stays with DMK

The CPI today cleared the air over its row with the DMK on seat-sharing for the Assembly polls and said it will stick to its decision to fight the polls as part of the DMK-led alliance.

The CPI cadres were angry after the party was allotted 10 seats for the Assembly polls, against 13 given to the CPM.

The issues have been settled and “till the last comrade, they will fight for the victory of the DMK-led front,” CPI’s state secretary D. Pandian said today after the problems were sorted out at the party forum in the last two days.

It is learnt that the DMK, in its bid to pacify the ally, has offered a Rajya Sabha seat to CPI’s national secretary D. Raja from Tamil Nadu.

In the event of a hung Assembly after the polls and the DMK not being able to get a simple majority on its own (the DMK is now contesting 129 of the 234 Assembly seats), the CPI will not join the ministry but extend support from outside, Pandian said.