Cosmopolitan Club accused of breaching BDA land-lease conditions

Jayanagar’s Cosmopolitan Club has been accused of violating conditions laid by the BDA in extending its lease, the chief one being its failure to supply midday meals to labourers working nearby.  

In 2000-01, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) leased out land for the club with over 3,000 members for 30 years.

In 2009, the Cosmopolitan Club Corpus Fund Trust was set up for social work and several social projects had been carried out, including distributing books and clothes.

On August 1, the club decided to discontinue the midday meals programme.

Ganesh Singh, vice-president, Bengaluru Civil Rights Struggle Committee, said the BDA had allotted 69,000 square feet of corner property to the club where commercial centres have also come up.

“From this (property), it gets a monthly rent of Rs 15 lakh. As the social services are stopped, the rent received from commercial complexes should be paid to the BDA,” he said in a letter addressed to BDA Commissioner Kumar Naik.

“Under the guise of doing social work, the club is only paying a rent of Rs 1 crore (about Rs 27,000 per month) for 30 years for a 69,000-sq ft property.

The lease of this property, worth more than Rs 600 crore, should be cancelled for the breach of contract condition,” he said.

The BDA commissioner was not available for comment.