Another VHBCS largesse benefits a non-member

Housing society found to have sold land to a tech park for a song

It has come to light that the Society has parted with  43,560.75 sq ft of land  for Rs 43.60 lakh in favour of Manyata Promoters for the construction of the Manyata Tech Park.

According to the documents in possession of Deccan Herald, the Society, in a joint development pact with Shree Shakthi Consultants, has sold the land in its Nagavara layout in violation of norms in December 2003.

The purchaser, Manyata Developers, is not even  a member of the Society. The sale is a clear violation of Karnataka Co-Operative Society Rules, 1959. Clause 6(d) of the Rules clearly state: “Where the objects of the co-operative society include the creation of funds to be lent to its members and where all the applicants are individuals, the applicants shall reside in the same village or town (or in the proposed area of operation of the co-operative society) or belong to the same class or pursue the same occupation.”

Through many hands
The land sold formed a portion of site no.9 in the layout. The site was divided between Manyata Tech Park and B G Channappa.

The latter had sold the adjacent site No. 10 to  Davalagiri Properties earlier last year. Channappa is also a partner in Shree Shakthi Consultants and Developers which was entrusted with the responsibility of developing the Nagavara Layout. 

The VHBCS also entered a joint development pact with Vaishnavi Group for the development of 12 luxury apartments - Vaishnavi Symphony - at Malleswaram. Of the 12, five apartments were meant for the Society and the rest for the developer. Each apartment costs an estimated Rs two crore.

In yet another gross violation of rules and regulations, the VHBCS inked the pact on December 12, 2007, despite not being able to get the government sanction for the venture with the private party.

Records suggest on the date of inking the pact, the vice president of the Society has written to the government seeking approval.

The government, in its reply dated January 17, 2008, has asked the Society to take a decision at its own level and capacity all the while adhering to KCS Act, 1959 and KCS Rules, 1960. The Society was also directed to contact the registrar of co-operative societies for any clarification. However, none of the directions appear to have been complied with.

Bought in open market
When contacted, a senior employee of the  Vaishnavi Group on conditions of anonymity said that the land was purchased in open market. The land was never allotted by the government and it was the property of the Society purchased with its money.

“There is nothing illegal in it. The Group is not in possession of even a single square foot of the Society land,” the source claimed.

However, what has gone unnoticed is the fact that the VHBCS had raised money from its members for the purchase of land in Malleswaram. The society as of 2006-07 had 1,979 members, according to its internal audit report.  
 
The Society had also entered into a development agreement with Vaishnavi Group for RMV II Stage project and alloted sites to the rich and prominent, including Davalagiri Properties.