Byrasandra Lake up for auction

For sale: 15 acres of BCC tank bed
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: In what can only be termed as bizarre, a 15- acre tank bed belonging to the Government is all set to be auctioned on Friday. The ownership of the tanks would have been clouded in mystery had it not been for a real estate company defaulting on its loan payments to a nationalised bank.

While there has been a flurry of activity to stall the auction, the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), to which the company had mortgaged the 15 acres and 11 guntas of land in survey No.56 of Byrasandra village, is clear that the land belongs to Sierra Property Developers Private Limited and that it had loaned an amount to it based on ownership documents.

When the company failed to pay, the IOB approached the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT), which issued the auction orders. Reserve Bank Employees Housing Colony Welfare Association President, Venkata Subba Rao, who lives adjacent to the tank bed were shocked to see advertisements for the auction in a newspaper. ‘‘The tank bed has been the subject of litigation for over 18 years. Our association has saved it twice -- once from the BCC, which was converting it into slum colony and recently from Sierra which claimed ownership.’’

The company had mortgaged the land to IOB in 1996. Though its ownership claims were squashed by High Court in 1998, the bank was unaware of it.

‘‘The shocking part is that the DRT has not paid attention to detail. It has sanctioned an order allowing this Government land to be auctioned. How can public land be auctioned?’’ Rao asked. ‘‘The High Court has passed an absolute stay order in 1998 in favour of a petition filed by me against the company. The High Court judgment also deemed the land as ‘public property’ and said no human habitation could encroach upon the tank bed.’’

Rao added the land is valued at Rs. 60 crore. The Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Ramalinga Reddy has sent a letter to the BCC Commissioner on the issue. When contacted, Reddy told this website's newspaper: ‘‘The problem came to light only after concerned citizens approached me. Court documents prove that the land is public property. I have written to the BCC Commissioner and also advised him to institute criminal proceedings against the company.’’

BCC Commissioner Jyotiramalingam confirmed he had received representations pertaining to the auction. ‘‘We have filed a petition to stop the auction proceedings.’’