Mangaluru : Dakshina Kannada Member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel on Wednesday instructed Deputy Commissioner M.P. Mullai Muhilan to conduct an inquiry on how the Port Department rented out its land between the Netravati railway bridge and the Bolar Sea Face to the leaseholders even after the expiry of the lease period.

Presiding over the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting here on Wednesday, Mr. Kateel said that if there was any lapse in the renting out of the land a case should be filed against the officials concerned.

An official of the Port Department told the meeting that the lease period of some of the leaseholders expired a year ago. Later the land had been rented out till this March-end.

Mr. Kateel’s instruction was in connection with some leaseholders objecting to the promenade project of Mangaluru Smart City Limited coming up on a 2.1-km stretch between the Netravati railway bridge and the Bolar Sea Face. Some of the leaseholders have approached the court questioning the Port Department’s action of taking away the land for the promenade project. The court is hearing the matter.