Forces face a new foe: land sharks

They are the protectors of the country’s borders. But defence forces personnel in the city have not been able to hold on to their land.

A survey by the defence estate department showed that most of its centres were shrinking in size, thanks to encroachment all around.

It has lost 700 acres — worth Rs 3,000 crore — of property, which lease holders sold out as their own to cash in on the real estate boom.

Most of the housing colonies in and around Secunderabad are built on leased land from the defence estate department. “They are sold and resold without any fear of law,” said Ramaswamy, a retired major.

At Mehdipatnam, 2,500 square yards of defence land was recently converted into a fairground for almost two years. The lease-holder had given it to the organisers with the connivance of local revenue officials as the military authorities slept.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said a source in the defence estate. “Nearly 9,000 acres of our land have been encroached in the country.”

Honesty is a Rs 1-lakh policy

A usual manic Monday turned out to be a memorable one for Devram Chavan. The 45-year-old auto-rickshaw driver had just started ferrying passengers from Ramnagar when he saw a plastic bag in the back seat.

There were some stamp papers and Rs 1,35,000 cash in it.

“When I found that there was so much cash in the bag, it struck me that it could be for some important work, so I informed the union office,” Chavan said.

Auto union leader Kalu Komaskar then took Chavan to Ramnagar police station.

Within an hour, a person in his mid-thirties rushed into the union office, from where he was directed to the police station. “The money was a token amount for a house I planned to buy in Dombivli,” said a beaming Ramesh Laxman, a resident of Wadala.

Chavan was rewarded with an insurance policy of Rs 1 lakh by the union.

Parking meter shoots up

The capital’s residents will have to shell out more for a parking slot, that is if they manage to elbow their way into one.

Struggling with a funds crunch, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi is raising rates in its 300-odd parking lots.

So, for 10 hours, a car-owner will have to pay Rs 20 instead of the current Rs 10. The corresponding charge for two-wheelers will go up from Rs 7 to Rs 15.

“We simply can’t maintain the old rates. There are almost 1,000 new parking lots that have been planned, but we just don’t have the money. The rates had to be raised,” an official said.

he civic authorities have found another recipe for earning revenue: private companies are soon going to be allowed to advertise in parking spaces.

K channels

If Karunanidhi can do it, can Kumaraswamy be far behind? Days after the Tamil Nadu chief minister launched Kalaignar TV, his Karnataka counterpart is setting up two television channels, one each for news and entertainment.

The yet-to-be-named channels are actually being set up by H.D. Kumaraswamy’s wife Anitha, but according to sources, the funds are coming from the Gowda family coffers.

This is Kumaraswamy’s first foray into the television business, though he has had a brush with the big screen, as a producer.

The chief minister’s detractors, of course, can’t help chuckle that the channels would keep him occupied when he bows out of office on October 3, the date set for handing over power to coalition partner BJP.

Delhi: If you are in the capital this Friday , don’t forget to visit an exhibition of paintings by children on Unesco’s world heritage sites in Hungary. The event is presented by the Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre. The venue is 1-A Janpath. Time: 11am to 7pm.