Link House land lease cancelled over ‘violations’

NEW DELHI: The housing and urban affairs ministry has cancelled the land lease of Link House occupied by United India Periodicals Pvt Ltd, publishers of Patriot and Link magazine. Sources said the ministry has served the cancellation order since the occupant violated the conditions on which the prime land was allotted.

This is the second building on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg after Herald House which faces the threat of being taken over by the land and development office (L&DO). Officials said the L&DO had allotted nearly half acre land to the United India Periodicals for setting up of printing press in 1959. The lease for the land was issued in 1962.

This comes at a time when the Associated Journals Ltd, which brings out Congress mouthpiece National Herald from Herald House, has accused the government of political vendetta against the main opposition party as the primary reason for cancelling the land lease. “We are acting against all violators and there is no design behind this,” said an official.

Officials had said this was just a test case and violators on this entire stretch would face similar action.

“During our survey in 2017, we did not find any functional printing press the Link House. Running printing press was the prime condition for getting such prime property in the heart of Delhi,” said an official. He added other violations include renting out most part of the building.

Officials said if the premises were not used for printing press, it amounted to misuse of the allotted land and the authority has the right to take them back.