Five acres of government land, including the portion on which Apollo Hospitals is located, at Bilekahalli on Bannerghatta Road was recovered by Bengaluru Urban district administration on Friday for allegedly violating land-grant conditions.

Cancer research centre

The land, now valued around Rs. 600 crore, was initially earmarked for a cancer research centre. It will now be handed over to Kidwai Memorial Hospital.

The 5-acre land parcel has a built-up area of 2.11 lakh sq. ft where Apollo Hospitals operates.

Sub-lease

Sources said the State government, in 1991, granted the land to a Chennai–based doctor family to set up a cancer hospital and research centre, and laid down the condition that the land should not be sub-leased.

However, A.M. Nisar Syed and his family members, who were the beneficiaries of the land grant, sub-leased the Imperial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre to Apollo Hospitals in 2005 for commercial purpose, which amounted to violation of the conditions, Assistant Commissioner (Bengaluru South).

Petition

This came to light when a local resident, Isac, filed a petition claiming that the 5-acre land parcel belonged to a church. A probe identified violation and the matter was reported to the district administration.

Based on the district administration report, the government cancelled the land grant and ordered the administration to take over the land and hand it over to Kidwai Memorial Hospital.