‘No mortgaging Mysore Lamps, NGEF assets’

NT Correspondent

The state government has no plans to mortgage properties worth hundreds of crores belonging to Mysore Lamps Limited and New Government Energy Factory Limited across several cities including Mumbai and Gujarat, said Large & Medium Scale Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani.

Replying to K.T. Srikantegowda (JDS) in the Legislative Council on Tuesday, he said Mysore Lamps Company owns 21.673 acre of land and several buildings in Malleshwaram East on Tumakuru Road, a 307 sq metre HIG Bungalow in the second stage of Rajmahal Vilas Extension, a piece of land measuring 309 sq. meters at the same place, a building on land measuring 79 sq. feet at TV Industrial Estate, Worli, Mumbai, a building measuring 1043 sq. ft in GT Association Complex, near Navrang Circle in Ahmedabad and 300 sq ft space in its cellar. All put together, the total value of the assets is around Rs 249.10 crore.

The minister said NGEF, Bengaluru has 119.60 acres of land in Baiyappanahalli and Benniganahalli villages in K.R. Puram taluk, Bengaluru. While 105 acre of land is situated within the compound wall, the remaining land is outside the factory. Departments of Revenue and Land Records has been requested to ascertain the ownership of the said land. Apart from this, it has 14.57 kg silver and 5.5 kg mixed metal.

Nirani said the government has proposed ‘Bengaluru Belaku’ on Mysore Lamps land to highlight the history of Bengaluru and introduce visitors to the food habits of all districts. A seven-member- committee headed by the chief secretary has been constituted for afforestation and implementation of various schemes. A trust too has been formed with seven IAS officers and five individuals as members. At any cost, land and properties of these two factories would not be mortgaged, he asserted.

Disagreeing with the minister, Srikantegowda wanted to know how many members have visited the museum on Kasturba Road. The government has suffered a lot after handing over a large tract of land in the heart of the city to a trust, he added.