Indian Express: Bengaluru: Tuesday,
April 26, 2016.
The state
government has rented out prime land to a club on Infantry Road for an
unbelievable Rs 10 a month.
The Ladies
Club on Infantry Road has been paying just Rs 120 a year, the price of a cup of
tea in premium restaurants in the area, since 1968. A club membership costs Rs
1.5 lakh today, and it is not easily available either.Documents obtained under
the Right to Information Act show that the agreement is valid for 50 years,
till 2018.
The club
occupies 1,697.75 sq m, and the space would easily fetch several lakh a month
just by way of rent.
The
government has been similarly generous to two other clubs. The Golf Club, with
a gate on Palace Road, boasts an undulating course stretching all the way till
the Windsor Manor. It pays just pays Rs 25,000, or Rs 417 an acre for a whole
year.
The Karnataka
State Cricket Association (Chinnaswamy stadium), busy hosting IPL matches this
season, pays Rs 19,000 a year, or less than Rs 1,600 a month. All three clubs
are within walking distance of the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat.
At the Golf
Club
In 1987, the
state government gave 60 acres to the Golf Club. The agreement expires in 2021.
A membership here costs Rs 14 lakh. For IAS and IPS officers, however, it is
just Rs 15,000 a year. The government has handed over 17 acres to the KSCA for
99 years, or till 2067. A membership at the KSCA Club costs Rs 10 lakh. Last
year, it was Rs 5 lakh.
RTI activist
Marilingegowda Mali Patil, who has dug out the details, told Express, “The
government must look at renewing the agreements at current market rates. None
of these clubs does any social work. They are commercial in orientation, and
are earning crores.”
How Much They
Pay
Ladies Club,
18,278 sq ft: Rs 10
KSCA,
Chinnaswamy Stadium, 17 acres: Rs 1,600
Golf Club, 60
acres: Rs 2,100(Monthly rent; all clubs within walking distance of Vidhana
Soudha)
How Much You
Pay
Ladies Club:
Rs 1.5 lakh
KSCA Club: Rs
10 lakh
Golf Club: Rs
14 lakh (Membership fee, if they let you in, that is!)
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