The Forum for Good Governance (FGG) has appealed to Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to take steps to halt the ongoing constructions at the erstwhile Padmalaya Studios and hand over the case to DG - vigilance & enforcement for ‘fixing responsibility’ on officials involved in allowing multi-storied constructions on a land alienated originally for the studio for development of film industry at a ‘throw away’ price.
In a communication to the Chief Secretary, a copy of which was released to the media, FGG secretary M. Padmanabha Reddy stated that the government had allocated 9.518 acres in Survey No. 403 in Shaikpet village for Padmlaya Studios at a price of ₹8,500 an acre when the official price was ₹20 lakh as per the sub-registrar.
But, the studio management, despite being clearly mentioned in the transfer deed that the allocated land can be taken back if the conditions of the alienation are violated, sold 5.53 acres to Zee Telefilms for commercial purpose, much against the conditions listed. This agency in turn sold the land to Phoenix Residences Pvt. Ltd., took permission from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and took up construction of commercial buildings, he charged.
Mr. Reddy, further explained that on the orders of the Hyderabad Collector, the tasildar stopped construction but after sometime the construction was once again taken up and the commercial complexes have surfaced. The then District Collector wrote to the government on Feb. 5, 2014 to cancel the land alienation to Padmlaya Studios for violation of the conditions and sent another letter to the GHMC to cancel the building permissions given. However, no action was taken on both the letters.
The Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA) too sent a report to the government on May 9, 2015, giving details on the violations made by Padmalaya Studios and requested action be taken as per law for using the land for purposes other than what it has been alienated for. Even this report did not stir the government into action, he claimed.
The FGG secretary accused “some officials” in the Revenue Department of having ‘soft corner’ for Padmalaya Studios, hence allowed the multi-storied buildings to come up worth hundreds of crores and this is a “sad reflection” of the administration.
The CS should probe into officials “who had ignored the reports of both the Collector and CCLA on the violations; how the 5.53 acres of alienated land was registered in the name of the builder and how the GHMC had given building permissions to build multi-storied flats in the alienated land,” urged Mr. Reddy in his letter.
