Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Government urged to recover leased land

Special Correspondent

Many of the clubs owe crores of rupees as lease arrears

Thiruvananthapuram: The City Corporation Council on Thursday urged the Government to recover huge chunks of public land that were leased out to clubs several years back. A resolution adopted by the council said many of the clubs had run up lease arrears to the tune of crores of rupees on prime land in the capital city.

Seeking leave for an adjournment motion on the issue, chairman of the Health standing committee G.R. Anil said elite clubs in the city had appropriated acres of land taken on lease from the Government.

“Years after the expiry of the lease period, these clubs are still in possession of the land. They levy huge amount as membership fees, receive donations from various sources and reap profit from commercial activities on the leased land. Yet, these institutions have failed to pay the meagre lease amount that was fixed several decades back, leading to a huge backlog.” He alleged that several clubs had also encroached upon neighbouring land.

Mr. Anil observed that the scarcity of land was hampering the development of the capital city. “Many of the projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) can take off only if adequate land is provided. The development of multi-level parking plazas is held up by the failure to identify land. The Corporation is also planning to set up a land bank for future development. In this context, the Government should be prepared to recover the leased land from clubs and use it to improve public facilities,” he said.

During the discussion on the issue councillors cutting across party lines supported the resolution. Accusing the clubs of contractual violation, they alleged that most of them deviated from the stated objective of providing recreational facilities and had become profit-generating commercial institutions.

The resolution was adopted unanimously.

The council adopted another resolution urging the Government to amend the Kerala Building Rules to ensure more parking space in commercial buildings. Moving the motion, chairman of the standing committee on Town Planning R.Satheeshkumar said the failure to provide adequate parking space at commercial centres was playing havoc with the traffic system in the city. “Violations of building rules compounded the situation. The parking space shown in the approved building plan is often diverted for offices and shop floors,” he pointed out.

“The building rules specify a requirement of one car parking space for every 100 sq. metres of commercial space. This ratio is inadequate in view of the booming number of vehicles in the city,” Mr. Satheeshkumar said.

The resolution recommended an amendment to the rules, specifying one parking area for every 30 sq. metres. During the debate, councillors stressed the need for strict enforcement of building rules. They called for periodic inspections to identify violation of approved plans.

The meeting called on the Government for emergency assistance to repair the Sanghumughom beach road that was damaged in heavy sea erosion over the last week.

Calling attention to the issue, chairman of the Works standing committee K.Rajasekharan Nair said strong waves damaged the retaining walls and a long stretch of the road. He said the road was likely to be washed away unless immediate steps were taken for reconstruction.

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