All Saints Church in Bengaluru to lose Rs 60 crore Metro aid?

BENGALURU: The row between the defence ministry and Church of South India (CSI), Karnataka Central Diocese, over a parcel of All Saints Church land acquired for Namma Metro work has taken a new turn with the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) asking State Bank of India to freeze the CSI’s account in its Sudhamanagar branch.
In a letter to the SBI branch manager on September 11, KIADB has said the Rs 60-crore compensation for the acquired church land had been transferred to the bank account maintained by the Church of South India, Karnataka Central Diocese.
The church land was acquired for the proposed Vellara underground station along Gottigere-Nagawara line under Phase 2 of the Metro project. The payment was made in four tranches. While the All Saints Church is part of the CSI, the defence ministry claims it owns the All Saints Church land and has documentary evidence to back the same.
In a police complaint filed in August, Lt Col Gangadharan, quartermaster at CMP (Corps of Military Police) Centre and School, said a total of 7,426 sqm of land was given to the CSI on lease as per Bangalore Military Station records of 1865.
Defence ministry sought early solution to land row
On April 4 this year, it was discovered that CSI authorities, without informing the military authorities and despite having no rights to the land, parted with it and collected Rs 60 crore as compensation from KIADB and BMRCL. The complaints came in the wake of directives from defence ministry higherups in Delhi to initiate legal action in the matter.
A defence ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday, “The matter of payment to All Saints Church for leased land from defence ministry is under investigation. As such, further comments can be offered only after the investigation is completed. The money transferred to All Saints Church for the transfer of land under question has been blocked by the bank as directed by the state authorities.”
Sources said the defence ministry has been holding a series of meetings with state government officers on the controversial land and pressed for an early resolution of the matter. The ministry has sought land documents from BBMP.
A section of devotees of the All Saints Church is opposed to the acquisition of church land for the Metro project. Recently, they protested the BMRCL’s move to axe 180 trees on the church premises. When the defence ministry claimed they were the land owners, the church authorities furnished documents before the defence estate officer (DEO). The chief secretary also held a meeting in this regard.
Dispute may hit work
The tussle over All Saints Church land is likely to delay the commencement of work on the proposed Vellara underground station. BMRCL sources said the state government had frozen the compensation paid to the Church of South India for acquiring the land. “With the defence ministry claiming the land, those who produce the original land documents will be eligible for compensation. We are hoping the issue will be sorted out soon,” said a senior BMRCL official.