Mamata fights private profit for public interest against ABP Ltd
1 Aug 2014 5:45 AM IST
ABP has alleged that KMC forcibly tried to evict them from the land, a claim KMC has denied. KMC, in turn, has alleged that ABP could not produce any document to support its claim and for this Calcutta High Court judge Sanjeev Banerjee had imposed a fine of Rs 51,000 on the latter.
But with KMC’s petition to cancel the allotment of prime land to the media house coming up for hearing soon and the present judge having recused himself from the case citing personal reasons, KMC has decided to cancel the lease alleging that this land of 3.2 acres was allotted to the media house for media-related activities at the cost of Rs 3 crore 10 years ago whereas the market price has gone up to Rs 200 crore.
But instead of media activities, ABP has sought permission for commercial activities such as real estate which is against public interest. KMC has also alleged that they have filled up a large portion of water bodies inside the plot illegally.
When this land was being handed over in 2004, ABP Ltd had signed an agreement with KMC that said this land was being given at a subsidised rate with a rider that it would not be used for any other commercial activity other than those related to media. A few months ago, KMC received a letter through the state government where ABP requested that those specific clauses, which prohibit them from using this plot for other commercial purposes, should be altered. This letter created a flutter among KMC officials because they found that for the last 10 years, this plot of land was not being used for any purpose.
The CEO of ABP Ltd, D Purkayastha, also met the mayor of Kolkata, Sovan Chatterjee, and insisted they should be allowed to carry out commercial activities like real estate on this plot of land. But, in the meeting, the mayor in council in KMC decided that they wanted to take back this land to use it to raise funds for development activities in Kolkata by auctioning this plot. In between, ABP Ltd went to the Kolkata High Court and got an ex parte stay order from Justice Sanjeev Banerjee. This sensitive matter came up for discussion in KMC’s meeting later which created more political flutter.
The larger issue being raised is that the ABP group, for the last three years, after the TMC government came to power, is carrying out relentless campaign against the state government for various ‘misdeeds’. Is it because the state government has not agreed to make a windfall of Rs 500 crores? (the cost of land was just Rs 3 crore when allotted and now the cost is around Rs 200 crore and if KMC allows them to carry out commercial activities, then the business would be around Rs 500 crore.)
The question that is also being raised is when their channel, ABP Ananda, is raising a bogey about various water bodies getting filled up and causing environmental hazards in the same EM Bypass area, how come ABP itself has illegally filled up large water bodies inside that plot (15 kathas)?
A year ago, the former Chief Justice of Uttarakhand, Barin Ghosh, had sought action from West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, against ABP owner Aveek Sarkar, over a proposed transferring of a piece of land belonging to the century old Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) to an outsider. He alleged that as the captain of RCGC, Sarkar had proposed to transfer 6 acres of the club’s vacant land by way of selling or lease to an outsider to build a 5-star hotel and Sarkar is putting pressure on the state government to repeal the urban sealing act.
ABP Ltd is the owner of the largest circulated Bengali daily, Anandabazar Patrika, the English daily The Telegraph, the number one Bengali news channel ABP Ananda and several magazines.
But with KMC’s petition to cancel the allotment of prime land to the media house coming up for hearing soon and the present judge having recused himself from the case citing personal reasons, KMC has decided to cancel the lease alleging that this land of 3.2 acres was allotted to the media house for media-related activities at the cost of Rs 3 crore 10 years ago whereas the market price has gone up to Rs 200 crore.
But instead of media activities, ABP has sought permission for commercial activities such as real estate which is against public interest. KMC has also alleged that they have filled up a large portion of water bodies inside the plot illegally.
When this land was being handed over in 2004, ABP Ltd had signed an agreement with KMC that said this land was being given at a subsidised rate with a rider that it would not be used for any other commercial activity other than those related to media. A few months ago, KMC received a letter through the state government where ABP requested that those specific clauses, which prohibit them from using this plot for other commercial purposes, should be altered. This letter created a flutter among KMC officials because they found that for the last 10 years, this plot of land was not being used for any purpose.
The CEO of ABP Ltd, D Purkayastha, also met the mayor of Kolkata, Sovan Chatterjee, and insisted they should be allowed to carry out commercial activities like real estate on this plot of land. But, in the meeting, the mayor in council in KMC decided that they wanted to take back this land to use it to raise funds for development activities in Kolkata by auctioning this plot. In between, ABP Ltd went to the Kolkata High Court and got an ex parte stay order from Justice Sanjeev Banerjee. This sensitive matter came up for discussion in KMC’s meeting later which created more political flutter.
The larger issue being raised is that the ABP group, for the last three years, after the TMC government came to power, is carrying out relentless campaign against the state government for various ‘misdeeds’. Is it because the state government has not agreed to make a windfall of Rs 500 crores? (the cost of land was just Rs 3 crore when allotted and now the cost is around Rs 200 crore and if KMC allows them to carry out commercial activities, then the business would be around Rs 500 crore.)
The question that is also being raised is when their channel, ABP Ananda, is raising a bogey about various water bodies getting filled up and causing environmental hazards in the same EM Bypass area, how come ABP itself has illegally filled up large water bodies inside that plot (15 kathas)?
A year ago, the former Chief Justice of Uttarakhand, Barin Ghosh, had sought action from West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, against ABP owner Aveek Sarkar, over a proposed transferring of a piece of land belonging to the century old Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) to an outsider. He alleged that as the captain of RCGC, Sarkar had proposed to transfer 6 acres of the club’s vacant land by way of selling or lease to an outsider to build a 5-star hotel and Sarkar is putting pressure on the state government to repeal the urban sealing act.
ABP Ltd is the owner of the largest circulated Bengali daily, Anandabazar Patrika, the English daily The Telegraph, the number one Bengali news channel ABP Ananda and several magazines.
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