Backroom parleys and efforts are on to find an alternative site to relocate Bangalore Turf Club (BTC), even as BTC and the State government are staring at a pitched legal battle with hardened positions in the Supreme Court.
The State Cabinet on Friday decided to stick to its guns and back the High Court order on relocation of BTC in the Supreme Court which will hear the case on January 13.
BTC president V. Harimohan Naidu told The Hindu that though they would contest the High Court’s order and government’s stand in the Supreme Court, they were open to shifting to the city’s outskirts. He, however, said the government has to grant them alternative land for free as “BTC land was a grant and not a lease”. The claims of BTC being a grantee are refuted by the government as a lease agreement was also executed.
Mr. Naidu added that the club wanted a five-year moratorium for relocation after they are granted an alternative land and would relocate only after the new turf club was commissioned.
Arvind Raghavan, a petitioner in the case and former secretary of Karnataka Horse Racing Owners’ Association, said that the only way the government could settle the dispute was by giving them (BTC) an inclusive package of “time and money”.
However, Mr. Naidu said most of the land parcels that the government had suggested near Doddaballapur, Sonnehalli and other areas were not suitable for building a race course. BTC authorities had suggested that the government should allot land in the 207 acres of land parcel of Jakkur Flying Club, which was being shut down. However, the government refused to allot that land parcel to BTC, he said.
Efforts on to find land for BTC
Staff Reporter
Bengaluru: While Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) has sought alternative land to relocate, the State government has said it is not “legally obligated” to provide land, according to a top source in the government. The State government has earlier told the High Court that it is not obligated to provide alternative land to BTC to shift.
Despite its stand, the government, however, has initiated the process to look for land. Following the High Court order in 2012, Bangalore Turf Club wrote to the government in June 2014 seeking to “identify about 150 acres of government revenue land in close proximity of the city.” Subsequently, Bengaluru Urban District Deputy Commissioner’s office wrote to Bangalore North and South Subdivision officials on September 10, 2014 to identify land for relocation of BTC.
In a related development, the government recently wrote to BTC demanding an equal share of its nominees in BTC. However, BTC authorities turned it down.
