Sports body defaults on taxes worth Rs 12 crore
Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao
Hyderabad: The Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium at Uppal, which belongs to the Hyderabad Cricket Association, and which has tax dues amounting to Rs 12 crore, is again in troubled waters. The Industrial Area Local Authorities, a wing of the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, has given the HCA 48 hours to sort out the issue.
HCA secretary K. John Manoj said, “The amount of Rs 12 crore is incorrect. The association will be meeting the CM on Tuesday and explain its position. The government will decide how much the association needs to pay”.
“Till Saturday, I had not received any official notice from IALA or the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). There will be no disturbances in the scheduled matches at the stadium. The earlier committee had neglected the issue and that is why the dues have gone up,” he added.
Interestingly, the current body of office-bearers came to power after an acrimonious battle rife with allegations of corruption against the previous body. Earlier, the GHMC had slapped a disconnection notice stating that if the HCA fails to clear the dues, the GHMC would be compelled to disconnect water and power connections.
Since a modern cricket stadium started functioning, the HCA has not been paying the property tax despite warrants and notices being issued. That is why the GHMC and IALA have been forced to take such a harsh step. The HCA has to pay Rs 2 crore as property tax per annum for the stadium.
Close to 35 per cent of the Rs 12 crore needs to be handed over to the GHMC. In February this year, a GHMC team with IALA officials and police visited the stadium and took away furniture, computers, copiers and scanners along with other items. However, Raghu Prasad, East Zone Commissioner, GHMC said, no notice had been sent to HCA authorities as on May 9.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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