Karnataka government directs BTC to identify land at Kunigal
By Sharan Kumar
The government of Karnataka has
directed the Bangalore Turf Club to make a joint inspection along with
government officials to identify about 100 acres of suitable land within the existing
Kunigal Stud Farm to set up a Greenfield race course. The Supreme Court has
fixed January 10, 2024, as the date for the final hearing to dispose of the
matter about the shifting of the race course after the government moved for an
early hearing which was accepted by the Apex Court.
The days of Bangalore Turf Club at
the existing premises is increasingly coming under question. The BTC had lost
the case about its claim of ownership of the land in the High Court and the
Court had given the club six months to shift in the year 2010. The BTC or
rather the Owners Association approached the court with a Special Leave
Petition which was admitted and the Court ordered a status quo till the
disposal of the matter.
It may be recalled that the hugely
popular Singapore Race Course was closed overnight by the Singapore Government
as the land under question was needed for the larger cause of the city.
The critical point that the Supreme
Court considered while admitting the SLP was that the government had not given
an alternate land to shift its activities given the fact that racing had been
going on in the current premises for over 50 years. That issue has now been
addressed with the government identifying the land in the vast expanse of the
Kunigal Stud Farm which has about 400 acres of land.
For the record, BTC is a Leasee and
the Government is the Lessor as per the agreement signed by the club and
whatever the claim of the land being a grant by the then Maharaja of Mysore,
has little relevance on the back of the acknowledgement of the ownership of the
land by the club through the lease deeds it had signed.
In August, the Government of
Karnataka had denied the club the license to conduct racing and the same was
restored after a few days with the club authorities given informal consent to
shift the racecourse after obtaining due sanction from the Special General Body
of the Club. The club has thus far made no effort to obtain consent from the
members.
The present Chairman Aravind
Raghavan who was primarily responsible for the club taking the legal route is
now the chairman of the club and has a big responsibility to solve the issue,
work out an amicable settlement with the government or continue the legal
battle, the outcome of which the legal luminaries say is bleak for the club.
The government on its part has
taken the informal consent seriously or it does not care. The government is
firm that the club shift its activities to the Kunigal Stud Farm. Though the
location is far from the city, the land perhaps fits all the requirements that
is required for the building of a new race course.
Thus, the government has been kind
to the club by offering an alternate piece of land which is located about 70 km
from the city. The club in the past had resisted attempts to shift to places
which have now become an integral part of the city. As the lands surrounding
Bangalore are not available, the 400-plus acres of the Kunigal Stud Farm is
inevitably the most suitable and readily available space that the government
can consider handing to the club. The present race course has outlived its
utility and there is an urgent need to modernize the facilities.
The Bangalore Turf Club has an
onerous job on hand. The question that is being asked is even if the consent of
the members is there for shifting, is the club financially capable of raising
the resources needed for the construction of a greenfield racecourse? The club
has not been prudent all these years as it did not attempt to save money to
build an alternate race course when the going was good. It showed a
slum-dweller attitude of not wanting to shift. The club used to do a turnover
of Rs 2000 crores per year but now with the punitive GST, the tote collections
have fallen to about Rs 200 crores. The bookmakers, higher entry fee is what is
enabling the club to survive on a subsistence level. The tote system has
collapsed and the club has also not made a serious effort to augment resources
from all sources having wasted money on scores of litigations at the slightest
pretext, acting like a bully. It has not made serious efforts to plug the
revenue being leaked through illegal betting.
The Managing Committee is a divided
house, with the Chairman not having the majority support having planted himself
in the seat through the good offices of a few politicians. Will the Chairman be
able to carry the committee under such circumstances? Can he and his committee
successfully obtain the consent of the club members? Where will the club get
its resources? Will the government give tax concessions to help the club tide
to build a new racecourse? Has the club made a feasibility study of the land that
is being offered; whether it is suitable for developing a race track and
whether enough groundwater is available for its activities?
The Bangalore Turf Club is on a
slippery ground. The club is known for its poor Public Relations exercise and
hence very few people sympathize with its plight. The club is also taking a
serious risk by not depositing the 28 per cent GST on its turnover despite all
other turf clubs in the country falling in line thus inviting further
litigation on itself.
The writing on the wall is clear
for Bangalore Turf Club unless it wants to turn a blind eye.
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