Hundreds of properties belonging to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) are under unauthorised occupation and petitions in courts to get them back are heard after long gaps, Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim said on Friday.
“The courts are hearing matters that draw the attention of the press and fetch publicity, while the ones that do not have the attention of the news media are being delayed,” the mayor said.
“Many of our properties are under unauthorised occupation. I am fighting for these properties for many years, but have not yet been able to get them back. We have been able to take occupation of Roxy (cinema building) after many years’ efforts,” Hakim said.
“There are hundreds of such properties,” he said and named Futnani Chambers, located right across the road from the KMC headquarters in Esplanade, as one such.
Officials of the KMC said the civic body lost a “huge amount of revenue” because of unauthorised occupation of the property. Futnani Chambers, with nearly 200 commercial establishments, was leased out to a company that sub-leased it to many others.
The lease period for Futnani Chambers has long expired. The company that obtained the lease from the KMC has since exited the place, but those that took space on sub-lease are still occupying the property, officials said.
“We are not being able to raise the rent because the occupants are in illegal possession of the property. As a result, they are paying a meagre amount as rent. The condition of the building is not good as it is not maintained properly,” said a KMC official.
In most of such illegally occupied properties, the current occupants have approached court challenging the KMC’s bid to remove them and take over the premises, officials said.
As for the building that housed Roxy cinema, for example, the lessee who had taken the property from the KMC sublet it to others. The KMC’s agreement with the lessee ended but the sub-lessee stayed back.
The KMC recently renewed agreements with several shops on the ground floor of the building after evicting them. Under the new agreement, the shops have to pay the KMC an enhanced amount as rent, in tune with the current government-stipulated rates.
“These are not my properties. They belong to the public. These matters are not coming up for hearing for years. There are many poor people whose land has been occupied illegally but they are not getting justice,” mayor Hakim said.
“I am not criticising judges, but they have become too aspirational. This will hamper their judgment. We consider judges to be next to god.”