‘Veda Nilayam’ in Poes Garden, which served as the residence of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for over 40 years, may become State government property in a few months, if the plan of the authorities proceeds smoothly.
Invoking Section 19 (1) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013 and Rule 16 of government rules, Chennai Collector R. Seethalakshmi issued a declaration that the acquisition of the property is needed for a “public purpose”.
It is to convert the land and buildings of the former Chief Minister into a government memorial. The plan of the land under acquisition can be perused by interested persons at the office of Revenue Divisional Officer, South Chennai, Guindy.
More importantly, the declaration, which describes the house as ‘Veda Illam’, makes it clear that the authorities, after holding a public hearing and an enquiry, concluded that the proposed memorial project "does not involve" any displacement or relocation of families.
“There are no Project Affected Families (PAFs) and hence, no question of relocation, resettlement and rehabilitation," the declaration states, adding that no idea has been identified as a “resettlement area.
Purchased by Jayalalithaa and her mother, Sandhya, also an actor, in July 1967 at a cost of ₹ 1.32 lakh, the former Chief Minister’s residence, measuring around 24,000 sq. ft, was valued at ₹ 43.97 crore as assessed in 2016, months before Jayalalithaa died.
In May 2017, former Chief Minister’s niece Deepa staked claim that the property belonged to her and her brother, Deepak. In August 2017, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami announced the government’s decision to acquire “Veda Nilayam” and turn it into a memorial.
Pointing out that the steps have been initiated for getting the declaration notified in the gazette of the State government, an official at the Chennai Collectorate says that the process for awarding the compensation would begin shortly. The award will be made after getting government nod.
Even though legal heirs have not yet been ascertained, there is no legal bar to completing the land acquisition process. The heirs, as and when ascertained, can collect the compensation from the authorities, the official clarifies, adding that the authorities will apprise the High Court of the developments. A senior government official said it will take “at least three months” to acquire the property.
If Veda Nilayam is converted into a memorial, it will be the second memorial in Chennai for a former Chief Minister, the other being the Kamaraj memorial house on Tirumalai Pillai Road in T. Nagar.
