Want a property for less than a rupee per sq ft at Pali Hill in Bandra?

BMC agreed to allot the community centre inside Veer Sambhaji garden at Pali Hill to the Shiv Vidya Prabodhini Balasaheb Thackeray IAS Academy. Pic/Atul Kamble

Can you imagine getting a nearly 5,000-sq-ft space in Bandra's upscale Pali Hill for less than a rupee per square foot? Turns out, all you have to do is ask, and you shall receive - at least that's what happened with Shiv Sena deputy leader Vijay Kadam, whose academy was allotted the premium property for a pittance. But, Kadam's powers of persuasion will likely fall flat before alert locals, who have obtained a stay on the deal from the high court.

When Pali Hill residents discovered that the BMC had quietly decided to give a 4,978-square-foot community centre to the Shiv Vidya Prabodhini Balasaheb Thackeray IAS Academy for just Rs 3,855 in monthly license fees, they immediately moved the Bombay High Court to stall the process.

A commercial property of the same size would fetch an average of Rs 5 lakh per month. While the civic body can decide what rate to lease its property at, locals were upset that the authorities did not invite bids from other interested parties.

The community centre (red building) is inside the BMC-run Veer Sambhaji garden at Pali Hill. Pics/Atul Kamble

Madhu Poplai, secretary of the Pali Hill Residents Association, said, "We are not against anyone getting the place for a public cause. Our only contention is that the civic body should have called for tenders, so that others who are also interested in social work can make bids without any bias."

According to their advocate, Nachiket Khaladkar, arbitrarily allotting the space to the academy without holding a tender process smacks of partiality. "[Issuing] public notice would have ensured fair competition for acquiring the welfare centre on lease. But, the way this was done, it gives the sense that it was arbitrarily done to favour a particular trust," he said.

Perks of partisanship?
The academy was founded and is run by Kadam, and his party is at the helm of the BMC. In December 2017, Kadam had written to Shiv Sena corporator Ananth Nar (then the chairman of the Improvements Committee), urging him to consider allotting the space to his educational trust.

Vijay Kadam, Sena deputy leader and academy founder

In March this year, Nar pitched the proposal before the House, and forwarded it to Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar (also a Sainik) and the civic administration. In April, the municipal administration wrote to inform Kadam that they had decided to lease the community centre to his academy for a period of five years and annual rent of Rs 46,252. The letter also laid down guidelines the trust would have to follow in order to take over the property. Before the paperwork could be completed, though, locals asked the high court to intervene.

The other side
Speaking to mid-day, Kadam maintained that there was nothing wrong with the deal: "We hardly find students from Maharashtra getting through to the IAS and IPS. Hence, to encourage students to take up civil service as a career, the trust had asked for a place where free coaching could be given to students, especially those from economically weaker sections of society. I don't know why anyone should object to this."

Corporator Nar, too, insisted that it was all above board. "The Improvements Committee's clearance, as well as civic house and administrative approvals were taken for the allotment of the centre to the trust. The allotment was done as per procedure. There was no violation of the rules," he told mid-day.

When asked why the tender process was not followed, he said, "Tendering is not required when the entire civic house has approved the proposal." Parag Masurkar, assistant municipal commissioner (Estate), said, "It would be inappropriate to issue any comment since the issue is sub-judice."

Community, not coaching centre
Also, the lawyer opined that coaching classes do not fit into the definition of a community welfare centre. "A community welfare centre is for the people living in the vicinity. Running coaching classes for aspiring students of Maharashtra does not meet the requirement nor fulfills the utility purpose," Khaladkar added.

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