Nagpur Municipal Corporation gets possession of Anand Talkies land

NAGPUR: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has taken possession of the Anand Talkies land, worth over Rs10 crore. Now, the civic body is trying to finalize plans for the land as may generate huge revenue for NMC due to its prime location.

A senior NMC official told TOI that possession of Anand Talkies land has been taken recently by placing seals on the structure there. "NMC started the process to valuate the structure existing on the land. NMC has to pay the cost of the structure to Saroj Screens Private Ltd, from which the possession was taken. The valuation of the structure has to be done according to the market value prevailing in 2009. The process has been initiated according to the directives of the Supreme Court," he said.

The official further said that NMC had asked Saroj Screens Private Ltd to submit the building sanction plan, which was received a couple of days ago. "NMC's estate department will ask the town planning department to decide the valuation of the structure. Saroj Screens Private Ltd's letter to the estate department estimates the cost of the structure at around Rs98 lakh. But the cost will be paid according to the valuation calculated by our officials," he said.

The official also said that the process to decide on the use of the land has been also started. "Estate department has requested the public works department (projects) to prepare plans, which will be finalized after consultation with the municipal commissioner and standing committee," he said.

NMC is lucky to get the land back in its possession. It became possible due to the judgement passed by the Supreme Court on March 26 this year. The Anand Talkies land plot measures 9,300 sqft and is located on Old Sarai Road, Sitabuldi, one of the costliest commercial areas of the city.

Member of standing committee Praful Gudadhe said the location of the land is very crucial as far as commercial angle is considered. "Since NMC can do whatever it wants with the land as per the Supreme Court directives, it should not go for leasing it out. The NMC can reap the benefits by developing a commercial complex on the land. The FSI in the city in present conditions is 2.5. NMC can earn hefty revenue and also provide proper commercial services to citizens," he said.

NMC had given the land on lease for a period of 30 years on March 17, 1944, to Gopaldas Mohta, who actually started Anand Talkies. The land was plunged into controversies due to various changes in the lease and saw several legal proceedings. Finally, the issue was decided by the Supreme Court, which asked Saroj Screens Private Ltd to hand over the land to NMC.