Showpiece of Jaya’s legacy, Nilgiris estate may end up on the block

CHENNAI: The 800-acre meticulously manicured Kodanad tea estate in the Nilgiris is a site to behold. Unofficially it is said to extend up to about 2,000 acres, and the entire length of the lush green estate is electric-fenced with more than 1,400 CCTVs dotting the entire stretch. Atop the hill is a helipad where Jayalaltihaa and Sasikala used to land, only to be driven down the pitch-black road to reach bungalows which are dream houses, according to people who have seen it.Its market worth will be hundreds of crores of rupees.
This property is now ready to be confiscated by the Tamil Nadu government under the Revenue Recovery Act, and if the government chooses so it could retain and use it for any purpose it wants, or it could simply sell or lease it to the highest bidder in open auction.
Kodanad Estate is only one of more than 100 high-value properties that Jayalaltihaa, Sasikala, J Elavarasi and V N Sudhakaran had amassed during the check period of June 1991-May 1996, when Jayalalithaa was the first-time chief minister. During the period, she had taken just Re 1 as salary, and the total income tax returns filed under the head salary was Rs 27.
The interiors of Siruthavoor bungalow on the Old Mahabalipuram Road too is said to be mind-boggling and it, too, stands on about 80 acres of land, together worth about Rs 55 crore. The Paiyanur bungalow ‘bought’ from film music director Gangai Amaran for Rs 13 lakh, was valued at a few crores in 1996 itself. Now it will cost about 30-35 crore.
Though the case came to be known as Rs 66.65-crroe disproportionate assets case, its present market value is said to be around Rs 2,000 crore. In fact, it was in view of their current market value, that the special judge John Michael D Cunha had imposed a total of Rs 130 crore as fine, including Rs 100 to be paid by Jayalaltihaa alone. In order to recover Rs 100 crore fine amount from Jayalalithaa and Rs 10 crore each from Sasikala, Elavarasi and Sudhakaran, the government will identify unattached properties and auction them.