95 million TL land crisis: Donated to be a middle school, set to be sold to Koca's Medipol

A notable development has occurred regarding a plot of land that was donated to the state on the condition that a middle school be built on it, but which has been used for some time by Medipol, founded by former Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

According to a report by İsmail Arı from Birgün, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has placed the plot, for which the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) had the zoning plans cancelled, on its sales list. The party expected to purchase it is once again Medipol.

In 1994, a citizen donated the 640-square-meter plot in the Bulgurlu neighborhood of Üsküdar to the public on the condition that it be used to "build a middle school." However, the plot remained vacant for many years, and no action was taken until 2017. As of 2017, the plot began to be used as a parking lot by the adjacent Private Medipol Hospital, founded by Fahrettin Koca.

MEB HID THE TRUTH

Emre Özipek, the guardian of the donation, initiated legal proceedings on the grounds that the conditions were not met. The Provincial Directorate of National Education claimed that the plot was being used as a garden for the Henza Akın Çolakoğlu Anatolian Imam Hatip High School and that a new 32-classroom building would be constructed on it, requesting the dismissal of the case with this defense. However, the discovery and expert examination conducted during the trial process refuted these claims by the Ministry of National Education. The report clearly stated that the plot was actually being used as a “parking lot” by the Medipol University Çamlıca Hospital.

TRIAL SLOWED, JUDGE CHANGED

As the trial progressed, the judge was changed at a critical juncture. In 2021, the newly appointed judge dismissed the case on the grounds of "statute of limitations." Emre Özipek appealed this decision. The Court of Appeal overturned the dismissal and sent the file back to the court of first instance. While all this was happening, the land in question was leased in 2019 to the Turkey Education, Health and Research Foundation, which is the founding foundation of Medipol. Özipek also filed a criminal complaint against the then-AKP Üsküdar Mayor Hilmi Türkmen and other municipal officials for "misconduct in office and turning a blind eye to irregularities." However, the then-Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu decided in 2020 not to process this complaint.

PLANS REJECTED BY İBB

During this process, the zoning plans for the 4,164-square-meter area where the plot is located were also changed and declared a "higher education facility area." The plan amendment report explicitly stated that the regulation was made in favor of Medipol University. However, the İBB took this regulation to court. The Istanbul 12th Administrative Court cancelled the zoning plan amendments on January 31, 2024.

Following all these developments, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change took a controversial step regarding the land that Medipol still effectively uses. The Ministry pressed the button for the sale of the plot, and the property was put up for sale with an estimated value of 95 million TL. In the sales announcement, it was observed that despite the zoning plan being cancelled by a court decision, the usage purpose of the land was noted as "Higher education facility area."

According to allegations, the buyer after the sale will again be Medipol.

News Source: 12punto