After several months of deliberations, the UT Administration has finally bowed to the demands of Golf Club. The UT Administration has decided to reduce the lease amount of Golf Club that was decided by the former last year.
Sources said the UT Administration has decided to reduce the annual lease amount by Rs36 lakh and give an extension of one year to the Golf Club to clear all pending dues.
The UT Administration's decision has come after a series of meetings with Golf Club officials and a mediator appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
After UT's decision, the Golf Club would have to pay Rs1.25 crore annually as lease amount and an extension of one year would be given to the Club to clear the pending dues.
After the revision of the lease amount last year, it had reached up to Rs1.61 crore annually. As per the earlier lease, which was for 20 years (1988 to 2008), the annual lease amount of the Golf Club, fixed on August 25, 1966, was around Rs1 lakh. Sources said though the UT Administration and Golf Club had failed to reach a consensus over reducing the annual lease amount by Rs36 lakh, the UT Administration is now adamant on its decision and would also file its reply in the court stating its decision.
"The Golf Club officials have also been informed about the same and the UT Administration has conveyed that it is not ready to further soften its stand on the lease amount issue," informed sources.
The Golf Club had filed a petition in Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the UT Administration's decision of enhancing its lease amount enormously and charging Rs9.27 crore as rent, including interest, for five years (March 2008- 2013).
HC had appointed retired SC judge Kuldip Singh as mediator to arbitrate between Chandigarh Golf Club and UT Administration to resolve the issue of the renewal of lease of nearly 132 acres.
The Golf Club management had also approached the Union Ministry of Home Affairs last year after the renewal of lease deed by the UT Administration.
The Golf Club spreads over an area of around 132 acres and has 1,800 members. The lease deed expired on March 15, 2008. The club was paying Rs 8,200 per month and Rs 3,960 lease money annually from March 16, 1988 to March 15, 2008 to the Administration.
Recently, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had sought the progress report of the ongoing lease deed dispute of Chandigarh Golf Club from the UT Administration.
In another letter earlier this year, the MHA had told UT Administration that the Golf Club had fixed deposits of Rs 13 crore and could easily pay the renewed lease amount. The MHA had also pointed out that with a simple 10 per cent rate of interest on fixed deposits, the club receives Rs 1.3 crore annually. And with this huge amount, the club can easily pay the renewed lease amount.