Govt to compensate Mysore royal family with a 'condition' as Palace Ground ownership dispute lingers

Bengaluru: Even though the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Karnataka government to compensate the erstwhile royal family of Mysore on the basis of the market value for acquiring about 15 acres of palace property, the litigation over the ownership of the entire 472-acre palace ground is still pending before the larger bench of the top court.

In light of this, the government is planning to issue compensation in the form of Transferrable Development Right (TDR) certificates on par with the guidance value, but with a condition. This is because the TDR cannot be recovered once it is consumed for construction of additional floors.

As per Tuesday’s judgment, the state government is under the obligation to fix Rs 2.83 lakh per sqm for the palace land, adjoining Ballari Road, and Rs 2.04 lakh per sqm for Jayamahal Rroad. The total value of TDR compensation comes close to about Rs 3,000 crore or Rs 194 crore per acre.

This is about two lakh times more than what the Bangalore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act 1996 had fixed through a legislation, which had pegged the value of the entire 472 acres at Rs 11 crore.

What can be noted is that on two previous occasions, when the BBMP required portions of palace land for widening Jayamahal Road and for building an underpass at Mehkri Circle, the government had compensated the erstwhile royal family on the basis of compensation determined in the 1996 Act. The method was adopted keeping in mind that the High Court had upheld the validity of the 1996 Act.

When the royal family challenged the ruling, the Supreme Court had ordered 'status-quo'.

Officials said the condition would be imposed as Tuesday's judgment had made it clear that the TDR issued by the competent authority would be subject to final orders that may be passed in Civil Appeals, pending before a larger bench. This order would have no bearing on the pending appeals, the bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Aravind Kumar noted.

Unlike cash compensation, experts say that TDR certificates, once issued, cannot be recovered after they are consumed. They insist that the government must issue provisional TDR subject to the outcome of the final verdict on the ownership of the disputed property. They also point out that, as per the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, the TDR can only be issued for the property that is encumbrance-free, which was not brought to the attention of the court.

Some stakeholders, including the Karnataka Rastra Samithi, a political outfit, also wondered what stopped the state government to vacate the status quo in the original petition, especially after the Supreme Court’s nine-member bench had cleared the air regarding the acquisition of private properties for public good on November 5.