BBMP to gift stadium to college

BBMP is all set to hand over a plush sports complex to a private college. In return for nothing.

But unlike BBMP, the college will not lose out on revenue and is free to earn from the stadium that was built out of taxpayers' money.

Citing maintenance problem, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to give away the sprawling Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex to Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College.

The complex, built at a cost of Rs 30 crore, at Basavanagudi, is an ambitious project of the Palike.

I will fight against it, says former mayor

A brainchild of K Chandrashekar, former mayor, who is also a former MLA of the area, the stadium was intended to serve the youth of South Bangalore.

Built on four acres, it has an athletic track, with other facilities like basketball and volleyball courts. There is also a cricket coaching ground, spacious enough to train hundreds of children, while two indoor stadiums house squash, tennis and badminton courts along with a sophisticated gym.

"BBMP is finding it difficult to maintain the complex," said Ravi Subramanya, Basavanagudi, MLA. "We thought it would be better to outsource it to a private party. Nobody came forward and ultimately we approached Jain College, whose response was positive."

Fresh proposal

However, a BBMP official said there was a technical error in the proposal, and BBMP was likely to ask the college to send a fresh proposal.

As per the deal, the college will maintain the complex and will be free to collect fees from the users. While it is not obligated to pay anything to BBMP, the college will be allowed to form different sports clubs and accept paid memberships. The college will have powers to give away the stadium for private programmes on rent, while it will be exclusively available for its students.

"It's true the college will have rights on the complex as it maintains it at its own cost," said Ravi Subramanya.
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"However, the college must ensure that the stadium is accessible for at least 50 per cent of the local people."

'Taxpayers' money'

But, locals cried foul over the deal. "The stadium is built at taxpayers' cost and now it is offered free to a private college," said L Vasudevamurthy, convener, Voters' Forum. " If BBMP does this, there will be no point in paying taxes."

P R Ramesh, former mayor, said, " It is scandalous. When a private college can maintain the stadium and earn revenue, why can't BBMP do the same? All along we have been witnessing such dealings and it must be curbed." Ramesh, as a mayor, had inaugurated the sports complex in 2004.

Clueless about the development, K Chandrashekar said the deal was not possible. However, he said, "If it happens, I will fight against it because the stadium was built for the public and not to favour any private party."

Fresh proposal

Chenraj Jain, chairman of Jain Group of Institutes, who was away in Hyderabad, was not available for his comments.

However, a college official said the administration was looking into the technical errors of the proposal and planning to forward a fresh one.