Tamil Nadu government deposits Rs 67 crore in court for acquisition of Jayalalithaa's residence

Tamil Nadu government has moved in to take possession of the palatial Poes Garden bungalow of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa by depositing Rs 67.9 crore before a civil court here. The Edappadi K Palaniswami-led AIADMK dispensation plans to convert the sprawling mansion spread over 24,322 square feet into a memorial for the late leader.

While Rs 36.9 crore would be paid to the Income Tax department in lieu of dues by the late leader, the remaining Rs 31 crore will be shared between Deepa Jayakumar and Deepak Jayakumar, the children of Jayalalithaa’s only brother who were declared as legal heirs by the Madras High Court in May.

The government’s move comes even as Deepak had last week approached the court seeking keys of the Poes Garden bungalow, which was bought by Jayalalithaa’s actor-mother Sandhya in the late 1960s. Sources said Deepa and Deepak will be paid compensation under Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 since the government has taken over the property.

However, Deepa rejected the government’s move to take possession of her late aunt’s bungalow and declared that she would move the “highest court of the land” against the decision as it was her ancestral property.

“They are nobody to do this in the first place. The legal heirs have been appointed by the court and if there are any dues or liabilities, we are there to pay. I am not fighting because it is a high-value bungalow. I would have fought even if it were a hut because that is where our roots are,” Deepa told DH.

“We will challenge the order and go to the highest court. My fight will continue. The government has not done the acquisition process in the right manner. We are against the decision,” she added.

The sprawling residence has been at the center of a controversy ever since Jayalalithaa’s death in 2016. The government announced in 2017 that the bungalow will be converted into a memorial for the late leader, but Deepa and Deepak went to the court seeking to be declared as legal heirs.

The government’s taking over of the bungalow will also ensure that Jayalalithaa’s long-time aide, V K Sasikala, does not stake claim to the property. The AIADMK leader, who is currently cooling her heels in the Parapana Agrahara prison in Bengaluru, was staying in the Poes Garden residence till she surrendered before the jail authorities in 2017.

The amount was deposited on Friday before a court after the land acquisition award was pronounced by S Lakshmi, Land Acquisition Officer (LAO)/Revenue Divisional Officer, South Chennai. Though Deepa’s counsel opposed the move, the official has termed the objections as “routine” and noted that acquisition was for the conversion of the palatial bungalow into a memorial.