Kochi: The Kalamassery Municipality is in the dock for initiating steps to sell six cents of land which is a public road under the municipality’s jurisdiction, to Lulu International Private Limited by concealing the fact that it is a municipality road.
The report of the Kerala State Audit Department (formerly Local Fund Audit Department) for the year 2015-16 has come down heavily on this and has drawn the attention of the Department of Urban Affairs to the “illegal deal” which was struck during the tenure of Jamal Manakkadan as municipal chairman.
The audit department report notes that the said deal was initiated in response to a request made by the Lulu director to the municipality on March 15, 2015. The report further adds that during in site verification it was found that the said property was a road recorded in municipality’s assets.
The municipal council decisions on June 30, 2015 and September 1, 2015 which decided to part with the road to Lulu, never mentioned that it is a road. The council agenda stated that it is a land not used by the municipality and serves no public purpose. “The municipal secretary and engineer had failed to inform the council about the important aspect that it is a road,” the report notes.
The audit department report also notes that the letter sent to the District Collector for the valuation of the land was not available on the file. It also does not contain any noting to the effect that the revenue authorities have been informed that the said land is a road. It is also clear from the reply given by the state government to the letter sent by municipality seeking its permission for sale of the land that this fact was not revealed to the government also.
According to the Land Conservancy Act 1957, roads, ponds and canals are poramboke and hence cannot be transferred and no business establishment is included in land assignment under different rules. Under Land Assignment Rules 24, in public interest, government can take a decision on such land and the report notes that “in the case of Lulu no such public interest exists.”
The said 6 cents ends at the Lulu gate on the Malippuram Road which begins from the Mankuzhi Road near Pathadippalam. The Municipal council decision says that Lulu had agreed to pay Rs 15 lakh per cent for this land.
The municipal council decision has given the impression Lulu bought a private road which is at the end of the Mankuzhi Road (40.8 metre length and 3.6 metre width) from its owners and gave it to the municipality in lieu of the gesture of the municipality to give the six cents at the end of Malippuram Road. This road has no direct connection to the road that is being given by the municipality to Lulu. The audit report also notes that it is clear from records that this private land has not been "bought".
DC learnt from the owners of the said private road that they surrendered the road to Kalamassery Municipality for a few lakhs and not Lulu. The audit department report dated February 8, 2017 also states that the decision of the municipality to sell the six cents of road to Lulu is now under the consideration of the government.
A Lulu spokesperson told this newspaper on Wednesday that Lulu had applied for the six cents of land that formed a part of Malippuram Road which is a public road as both sides of the said road portion belonged to Lulu and had no use for public as it ends at one of the Lulu gates as well. “The transaction has not taken place and we have not given any money to the municipality for the land though we had agreed to give Rs 15 lakh per cent. Apart from that Lulu had compensated owners of another private road near the said municipality road which begins from Mankuzhi Road based on the directions of Kalamassery Municipality to enable it take over the private road for public use. The said money had been given to the owners of the road,” said the spokesperson.
