Hyderi Manzil or Gandhi Bhawan hit headlines last December when the
United Bank of India (UBI) issued a notice, putting the property on
auction. The bank had then claimed that it held the property on
mortgage. But the auction was stalled after the move drew criticism from
several quarters.

“The state government had passed on
management control of the property to the KMC in 1981. Ever since, the
KMC has been in charge of maintaining the building and we have papers to
support this. Accordingly, work on maintenance has also begun. The
locals are with us and we shall make sure that the property is duly
maintained,” the mayor said. The civic body has started putting up a
fence around the maidan.

Chatterjee’s claims found support in
local MLA Paresh Pal who donated money from his local area development
fund to set up the fence. “KMC is the legal custodian of the property.
Some promoters are trying to stake a claim to it, but we shall not let
that happen. This is a historic building and the adjoining space has
always been a playground. It will remain so,” said Pal.

The
owners of the building at 150 B Beliaghata Main Road, on the other hand,
said that the property had not been given to KMC. “We had mortgaged a
portion of the property to the bank. But it has never been taken over
either by the state government or KMC. If they indeed had, then why are
we still paying tax for the property?” asked Manabendra Ghosh,
one of the owners. Ghosh has lodged a complaint against the takeover at
the local police station. He added that even though the state
government had announced a takeover, it never happened. “Neither were we
paid any compensation nor informed about the takeover,” said Ghosh.

Local clubs, which have fought against the auction of the property,
rejected the owners’ version. “They had mortgaged the building to the
bank. It will be a pity if such a historic property is auctioned.
Gandhiji had fasted here for 25 days and it’s probably his strongest
link with the city,” said Sapan Kumar Ghosh of the local East Kulia
Athletic Club. “We shall protect the building and the ground at any
cost,” said Alok Ghosh of the local Gandhi Smarak Samity.The
Gandhi Bhawan controversy has taken a new turn with the Kolkata
Municipal Corporation (KMC) claiming that they have had management
control over the historic property since 1981. The civic authorities
have got documents to prove this, according to mayor Shovan Chatterjee.
It has also been pointed out that in 1982, the state government had
apparently handed over the building at Beliaghata along with the
adjoining Gandhi maidan to the civic body for maintenance. While the KMC
has staked claim over the property and started putting up a fence
around the maidan recently, the owners of the property have claimed that
the KMC has no right over it and that it had not been taken over.

Gandhi Bhavan shot into controversy last December after the United Bank
of India (UBI) issued a notice putting the property on auction. The
bank had claimed that they held the property on mortgage. It led to a
furore and protests from various quarters, following which the auction
was stalled.

“The state government had passed on management
control of the property to the KMC in 1981. Ever since, the KMC has been
in charge of maintaining the building and we have papers to support
this. Work on maintainance has been started accordingly. The locals are
with us and we shall make sure that the property is duly maintained,”
said mayor Shovan Chatterjee.

The owners of the building at 150 B
Beliaghata Main Road, on the other hand, claimed that the take-over was
illegal and that the property had not been given to the KMC. “We had
mortgaged a portion of the property to the bank. But it has never been
taken over, either by the state government or the KMC. If they indeed
had, then why are we still having to pay tax for the property?” asked
Manabendra Ghosh, one of the owners. Ghosh has lodged a complaint
against the take-over at the local police station.

He added that
even though the state government had announced a take-over, it never
happened. “We were not paid any compensation, nor informed about the
take-over,” said Ghosh.

Local MLA Paresh Pal, who has donated
money from his local area development fund to put the fence, said the
KMC was the legal custodian of the property. “Some promoters are trying
to capture the historic property. But we sdhall not let them acquire it.
This is a historic building and the adjoining space has always been a
playground. They will remain so,” said Pal.

Local clubs, which
have fought against the mortgage of the property, rejected the owners’
claims. They have never visited the building nor done anything to
preserve it, they said. “They had mortgaged the building to the bank. It
will be a pity if the property is auctioned for the building is a
historic one. Gandhiji had fasted here for 25 days and it’s probably his
strongest link with the city,” said Sapan Kumar Ghosh of the local East
Kulia Athletic Club. “We shall protect the building and the ground at
any cost,” said Alok Ghosh of the local Gandhi Smarak Samity.