States: Tamil Nadu; Troubling Assets

India Today
Nov 16,1998

TAMIL NADU
Troubling Assets

The Thambidurais are in a spot for violations on hospital land.

By K M Thomas

In a country where politicians make millions even in the name of cattle, the cause of the downtrodden is a cliched excuse. But as more and more leaders seem to believe, it is also the most convenient. The latest addition to this list is AIADMK leader and Union Law Minister M. Thambidurai. Last month, the Madras High Court upheld the validity of a notice issued to his wife, Dr K. Bhanumathi, by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) for gross violation on prime land allotted to her for the construction of a hospital in Chennai.

The "scam" itself is not new. Way back in 1987, the Thambidurais had approached the then chief minister M.G. Ramachandran and prevailed upon him to allot land for a hospital "to benefit poor women and children". Eleven years on, there is still no sign of the hospital and the land -- opposite the West Anna Nagar bus stop -- houses a medical shop and a gas agency. The value of the land? Rs 3 crore, appreciated from Rs 9.5 lakh at the time of allotment.

MGR allotted 7.5 grounds (nearly 40 cents) of the TNHB land to Thambidurai's wife from his discretionary quota on a written assurance that she would build the hospital. Though the shops came up soon after MGR's death in December 1987, they did not attract the TNHB's attention during the brief tenure of Janaki Ramachandran. The subsequent imposition of President's rule too helped. It was only when the DMK Government took charge in January 1989 that an all-out drive against land violations in the state began. Within three months, the TNHB issued Bhanumathi a notice, seeking to know why the land allotment should not be cancelled.

Bhanumathi filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court to get the notice quashed. Her plea that the "land was also allotted for commercial purpose, not nursing home alone" was rejected by the court on the ground that it was not a regular board allotment but from the chief minister's discretionary quota meant for a specific purpose. But fortunately for the Thambidurais, the aiadmk came to power in 1991, giving them a five-year reprieve.

Back at the helm in 1996, the DMK got the case moving again. And finally after nine years, the court ruled last month that the TNHB had the right to ask an allottees to vacate the allotted land if they did not comply with stipulations. In his judgement, Justice Y. Venkatachalam said,"The petitioner and her husband assured MGR that she wanted to render medical help to the poor ... It was her duty to open a hospital within a reasonable time." Within two days of the court order, the TNHB cancelled the allotment.

Not one to take it lying down, Bhanumathi filed a fresh appeal in the high court, accusing the TNHB of arbitrarily cancelling the allotment without giving her an opportunity to explain. The hospital's not coming up, she said, was just a case of inordinate delay. "No prudent person would invest crores of rupees in constructing a multistoreyed hospital with modern facilities," she argued, "especially when the allotment itself is in question," She also assured the court that she would put up "Dr MGR Hospitals Limited" on the land. The first bench of the court has now ordered a status quo on the TNHB order cancelling the allotment. Till the appeal is disposed off, Bhanumathi can keep the land in her possession. The court has also asked the state Government to explain afresh why the allotment was cancelled.

Bhanumathi prefers to answer that. "I was served the first notice when the DMK came to power in 1989," she told the court. "My husband Thambidurai is a prominent AIADMK member and minister and hence the DMK Government is taking motivated action." But a smug Karunanidhi thinks it's only fair and is even demanding the minister's resignation. "Thambidurai has made money out of land meant for a philanthropic purpose, he should quit," he said, adding he had also "forfeited his right to demand the dismissal of DMK Government now".

And even as the Thambidurais are musing over their next course of action, the TNHB is scrutinising other land deals involving them in Hosur and Krishnagiri. "We have a long list of cases, where TNHB land has been acquired with false representations," says a board official. "We will be happy to act if the Government gives us a go-ahead." That the list would throw up many more VIPs goes without saying.

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