GVMC Demolishes Structure Raised Against SC Order in Lawson’s Bay

Visakhapatnam: Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) personnel on Tuesday demolished a newly built structure raised against the Supreme Court order by the management of a petrol bunk in Lawson’s Bay Colony on the beach road in the port city.

The century-old Shanti Ashram owns the land on which the structure had been raised. In all, the ashram owns 10 acres of land in the prime Lawson’s Bay area of Vizag. While under dispute, six acres of the ashram’s land had been leased to a food court, petrol bunk and several shops.

Following an appeal by the Shanti Ashram against this, Supreme Court in December 2023 ordered all the occupants of the land to vacate it by September 30, 2024. Some of them appealed to the apex court seeking some more time to vacate the premises. But the court turned down the request and set a new deadline of October 15, 2024, to vacate the land.

Jana Sena leader and GVMC corporator P.L.N. Murthy Yadav said even after the Supreme Court ordered all leaseholders to vacate the land, the petrol bunk management began raising a concrete structure. Following this, the corporator said he complained to the GVMC planning department to demolish the structure.

“How could the GVMC authorities approve a construction plan when the Supreme Court has ordered occupants to vacate the land,” the JS leader asked.

The leased-out six-acre land on the beach road is valued at Rs 60 crore.

Shanti Ashram management committee president M.N. Aditya explained that Shanti Ashram founder Omkar Swamiji gave 6.4 acres of land via a conditional gift deed to his disciple Yogi Raghavendra in 1949, incorporating a condition that the latter would run a naturopathy hospital, impart yoga classes and carry out spiritual activities on the premises.

“During his entire life, Raghavendra did not fulfil any of the conditions of the Swamiji; rather he carried out commercial activities,” the ashram management committee president stated.

After Raghavendra died, one Gajula Vivekananda, now deceased, claimed to be the adopted son of Raghavendra. He claimed rights over the 6.4 acres of land.

Management of the ashram filed a case in principal senior civil judge court for cancellation of the gift deed in 1999, but the court dismissed the suit. The ashram management appealed to the principal senior civil judge and got a favourable decree.

Heirs of Vivekananda challenged the order in the AP High Court in 2005. The court, however, dismissed the petition. As a last resort, the heirs filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court in 2023 against the judgment of the high court.

Supreme Court on December 14, 2023, dismissed the SLP at the admission stage itself. It asked the lease-deed holders to vacate the premises by September end this year.

Omkar Swami founded the Shanti Ashram in Thotapalli in erstwhile East Godavari district in 1917. In Visakhapatnam, the ashram is running several schools for children of nearby fisherfolk, apart from a school for physically challenged with a free hostel facility for 25 students.