“The draft deed was signed in 2003, by the then Trinamool Congress board, and was handed over to Ganguly at a function.

“We have just executed what the Trinamool-BJP board had done,” said the mayor at a monthly meeting of the KMC House.

Earlier, Ganguly hit the eye of the storm when Trinamool councillor Atin Ghosh alleged he was planning to use the land for commercial purposes in violation of the 2003 municipal corporation resolution, which stated that land given would be used for “promotion of sports”.

He said that KMC cannot “gift” land and so it was leased for free to Ganguly and a resolution was passed in the KMC regarding that, in 2003.

“The mayor bypassed the House and executed a deed of gift on June 10, 2006, even though it was decided in 2003 that the land would be leased out.

“This is a clear case of forgery,” said Ghosh

Following this, Ganguly requested the KMC to take back the 10-cottah plot near his residence at Behala, in view of the allegations of violation of the land lease agreement, the mayor told the meeting.

The 99-year lease agreement with Ganguly, inked on September 10, 2003, envisaged that the star cricketer would build a sports complex with a gymn-asium and other facilities on the land at Raja Ram-mohan Roy Road, the mayor said.

“The cost of running the gymnasium built on the premises will be borne by renting out of one of the floors to a bank,” said the mayor, denying the allegations.