Palace property sold for 6,000cr

I always thought the Palace Grounds was owned by the government. Mr Wodeyar should thank his fore-fathers for his golden spoon. Wish is everyone was so lucky :)

Palace property sold for 6,000crBY R. JAYAPRAKASHBENGALURUArticle Rank I Wodeyar has sold prime land in Palace Grounds to a city-based developer I ‘ Many high profile realtors were interested in the deal ‘ but in the end leading developer Dayanand Pai struck the dealIt is disputed land but already been sold for Rs 6,000 crore. In the biggest land deal that Bengaluru has seen so far, some 250 acres of prime land in the heart of the city in Palace Grounds, has been sold to a leading city-based developer Dayanand Pai.The state government and the scion of the Mysore royal family Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar are shadow-boxing in the Supreme Court over rights to the property.The deal has been brokered by a godman, who is close to both the politicians and the maharaja.A team of chartered accountants drafted the sale agreement that will be executed after the court case is resolved.Highly placed sources said the Maharaja had received Rs 1,000 crore as advance and the money has been deposited in the Bank of Mauritius in an escrow account. “Mr Wodeyar is earning close to a crore as interest on the advance money. He will receive the balance after the legal hur dles are cleared. Many high profile realtors were interested in the deal but in the end Dayanand Pai struck the deal as he was confident of getting the papers cleared.Of the 250 acres belonging to the Wodeyar family, 50 per cent is for outright sale and the remaining land will be developed on a joint venture basis by Mr Wode yar and the buyer. The plans include developing an IT Park, setting up malls and multiplexes,” sources said.A city-based BJP Cabinet rank minister has offered to resolve the issue.“In 1998, Mr Wodeyar had filed an application to conduct events at the Palace Ground which was turned down by the then state government. Following this, he moved the court and got a stay order on the Bangalore Acquisition and Transfer Act which was moved by the state government in 1997. The minister is working on dropping the case by the government. Another possibility being worked out is to grant the land in lieu of some other property which is also contested by the state and Mr Wodeyar. The high profile minister has resolved many such cases in the past. Looking at his track record, things look positive for the Wodeyars,” sources added.Princesses Meenakshi Devi, Kamakshi Devi, Indirakshi Devi, Vishalakshi Devi and the late Gayatri Devi, have about 28 acres of land each apart from the major chunk of land that belongs to Mr Wodeyar.