Maharaja ghost invades real estate business

Maharaja ghost invades real estate business
Vijay Times

An ancient royal practice of granting land for specific purposes is proving handy for sharks eyeing Bangalores lucrative real estate. At stake is over 3,000 acres of land on the citys outskirts. The size of the pot at the end of the rainbow? Rs 5,000 crore.

The practice is called the Maharaja Grant Lands. The erstwhile royal family of Mysore gave away thousands of acres of land by way of donation, reward or recognition. Most recipients of such royal honour are long since dead or peacefully forgotten.

But, mysteriously, the records and documents of such "grant lands"---some real, many fake---are landing in the hands of builders, developers, real estate dealers and powerful politicians. The result is a full blown scandal that threatens the very topography of Bangalore.

The alleged grabbing of Turahalli minor forests, which was recently in a controversy following a sting operation by a television channel, is one such piece of land. The dispute between Hotel Atria and KPSC is one other.

The dispute between the forest department and a private builder over a piece of land on Sankey tank bund pending before the Lok Ayukta and the controversy over 711 acres of plantation in Kadugodi, near Whitefield, are also built around the Maharaja Land Grants.

Once the "grant records" reach the hands of the land mafia or people in government, pressure is exerted on the district administration to "legalise the deal". When the district administration refuses to entertain such case, the issue goes to court. The rest is history.

In the Turahalli case, the erstwhile Mysore government had granted the land to raise plantation. However, government records show that the land in question had been notified by the Revenue Department in 1934 and the ownership has been transferred to forest department.

The Court has directed the government to constitute a committee and take an appropriate decision with regard to ownership of the land.

The Bangalore Urban district administration flatly denies that the claimants have any right over the land to sell them.

"Though the Maharaja granted some of the lands across the State, they were earmarked for specific purposes. Certain schedules were attached to such grants, retaining the land ownership with the government itself. Even notifications were issued in this regard,” notes Rame Gowda, special DC, Bangalore Urban district.

Stating that most of such claims did not hold any water, Rame Gowda says the schedules of the grants clearly specified the purpose like raising plantation, grazing cattle or even floriculture.

"The people would be given right to enjoy the land, but ownership will be with the government. We have already transferred such grant lands to respective departments and now the people are trying to claim right on the land, so that they can sell it to real estate dealers,” he added.