Times of India; Anil Kumar; Wed, Dec 22, 2010,
BANGALORE: The public works department (PWD) has leased prime properties in Bangalore for very low rentals. Many of these properties are sporting bodies and the leases are long term. Information obtained by TOI through RTI shows that rent paid by Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to government is Rs 19,000 a year; the plot's worth is Rs 601 crore at current market value. Similarly, Bangalore Golf Club pays Rs 10,000 and the 60-acre land it occupies is worth Rs 131 crore; Ladies' Club located on 18,275 sqft of land on Infantry Road, valued at Rs 12 crore, pays PWD a laughable monthly rental of Rs 10.
It isn't just sporting and other associations to whom PWD has leased land. It transpires that a 2,079-sqft plot situated next to chief minister B S Yeddyurappa's official residence on Race Course Road has been leased out to an individual at a rent of Rs 1,500 per month.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has, in his latest report, pointed that PWD alone has forgone Rs 1,205 crore by leasing out its prime properties to non-charitable and commercial activities for throwaway rent.
Top sources in the department say that their department is on the verge of bankruptcy as payments over Rs 1,200 crore are pending to contractors.
The RTI reveals that the 73-acre Bangalore Turf Club, which has been in the news because Yeddyurappa is determined to close it down on Race Course Road, pays a much higher rental than other properties. As the lease period has expired, the club is paying a monthly rent of Rs 5 lakh and has been asked to find alternative land for the racing activities.
Revenue in the form of rent from the Institute of Engineers, located on Queen's Road, is equally dismal it's paying a mere Rs 10,000 per year, and the present value of the land it occupies is pegged at over Rs 20 crore.
The beneficiary of the property next to the CM's house on Race Course Road is a Congress MLA from Belgaum who has taken property in the name of Bhoomika Enterprises. In February 2004, it was leased out to the individual (who was then a KPCC office-bearer) for a monthly rent of Rs 1,500. The value of the property is close to Rs 2 crore.The CAG report has criticized the PWD's rent policy, which violates the Karnataka Public Works Department code that puts a five-year lease cap. However, the lease agreement in each case is well over ten years. Barring Bhoomika Enterprises, the government has not made any provision for rent revision in the agreement.
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