The Cabinet on Monday decided to act against the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) by recovering land lease rent dues to the tune of Rs 37.46 crore, despite the advocate-general advising against this.
“The club’s lease ceased on December 31, 2009, but there is a court order to maintain the status quo. Still, the Cabinet has decided to get the club to pay the dues,” Law Minister J C Madhuswamy said, briefing reporters.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had recommended that, besides recovering the dues, the government should suspend the club’s licence for horse racing and other activities.
“The advocate-general opined that since the court has asked for the status quo to be maintained, recovery of dues and eviction will be difficult. The Cabinet decided to overlook the opinion as far as recovering the dues is concerned,” Madhuswamy said.
“Yediyurappa was the chief minister when it was decided to evict the club. There’s no compromise on that. But let the club first pay its dues, after which we will decide on renewing its land lease,” he added.
BTC chairman D Vinod Sivappa told DH that he hoped the government would consider the issue "in a kind manner."
The Cabinet also decided to renew the lease of the Mysore Turf Club for another 30 years, from August 1, 2016, to July 31, 2046. In this period, the club will have to pay the government 2% of its gross annual income, Madhuswamy said.
No vertical buildings
In another decision, the Cabinet decided that the ‘1-lakh Multi Storied Bengaluru Housing Scheme’ for the urban poor will not go vertical.
“Due to paucity of land, it was decided earlier that the affordable homes should be constructed in G+14 floor buildings. But given the section of people we are targeting, the G+14 buildings might run into maintenance issues in the long-term. So, it was decided that houses will be built on G+3 buildings, except those that are already under construction,” he said. So far, 28,754 houses are under construction.