Enforcement Directorate team takes possession

Madhu Koda Mall in Bistupur

Jamshedpur : A sixmember team of Enforcement Directorate ( ED) from Ranchi today
took procession of an incomplete multi-crore mall in Bistupur, reportedly owned by a close aide of former chief minister Madhu Koda.

The team put up a poster declaring a stay on the sale or resale of the land.

Work was suspended at the mall – Balaji Lifestyle Mall that was being developed by a Mumbaibased realtor – in November 2012 following income tax and Enforcement Directorate
raids.

As a consequence, bookings for office and business space in the mall had stopped. Work resumed in the last week of December.

Construction for the seven-storeyed mall, supposed to be a city landmark, began in July 2009 at Contractors Area, a prime location in Bistupur.

The centrally airconditioned mall was designed to host a shopping complex on three levels,
complete with anchor stores.

Equipped with the latest fire fighting and safety features, the mall was to have escalators and capsule lifts.

The mega project is worth Rs 250 crore. The Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) had
confirmed that Koda’s aide Vinod Sinha had submitted the mall’s building plan in 2008.

The mall falls under Tata lease area. The building plan of the mall spread over 1.5 acres
was approved by JNAC in early 2009.

The land was earlier owned by Ravi Inder Singh, the proprietor of Indian Steel and Wire Products (IS&WP).

It was purchased by Sinha and a few other partners, including Bablu Ghosh, in 2008. After
purchasing the land they tied up with Balaji Group.

Officials of Balaji Group could not be contacted for comments. The team also conducted similar inspections at Sonari and Burmamines.