E-Paper
PMRDA yet to recover rent arrears from traffic park contractor
Despite expiration of the five-year lease in April 2023, Mahalakshmi Automotives has not yet handed over possession of the traffic park to
While a five-year contract for a traffic park located in Moshi awarded by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) has expired since last year, the PMRDA is still struggling to collect the overdue rent from the concerned contractor.
The Pimpri-Chinchwad New Town Development Authority (PCNTDA) set up a traffic park on a four-acre plot in Peth number 6, Moshi, to create awareness among citizens about traffic rules. Driving tests were conducted in the presence of a competent officer of the transport department to obtain driving licenses for the residents of the city but the tests required a test drive track. Accordingly, the track in the traffic park was made available to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Sub-Regional Transport Office.
The PMRDA leased out the land for the traffic park for a five-year period from May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2023 to Mahalakshmi Automotives Private Limited. During this time, the company operated the test drive track, charging a fee from the drivers undergoing the test. As per the agreement, rent of ₹3.60 lakh inclusive of 18% GST was payable by Mahalakshmi Automotives Private Limited to the PMRDA. Over the years, the monthly charges increased, reaching ₹4.76 lakh plus 18% GST in the period from 2022 to 2023.
Despite expiration of the five-year lease in April 2023, Mahalakshmi Automotives has not yet handed over possession of the traffic park to the PMRDA and the company has not paid the outstanding rent of ₹2.98 crore. The recovery of this amount poses a significant challenge for the PMRDA administration.
Ramdas Jagtap, deputy collector of the PMRDA, said, “Recently, the PMRDA finance officials and land estate department officials conducted a meeting with the contractor. The contractor raised objections over the rent during the Covid-19 pandemic and demanded to exclude it from the calculation. Now, the PMRDA commissioner has given direction to reassess the rent.”
