Talkatora gets expensive

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has decided to charge Rs 1.25 lakh per day for any political meetings as well as for commercial events such as fashion shows and exhibitions. The existing rate is Rs 60,000 for eight hours.

Holding political rallies at Talkatora stadium won't be cheap anymore.

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The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has decided to charge Rs 1.25 lakh per day for any political meetings as well as for commercial events such as fashion shows and exhibitions. The existing rate is Rs 60,000 for eight hours.

The NDMC's welfare department has proposed the hike in view of the fact that the stadium went through an extensive makeover before the Commonwealth Games in which everything starting from the bathroom fittings to the seats had been changed.

A proposal in this regard will be tabled at the council meeting this week where according to sources it could face resentment from political members of the council.

The civic body spent R52 crore in the revamping that also included building a six-storey facility block for sportspersons.

The charges proposed by the NDMC are for the main sports block excluding the facility block. The charges for the additional block will be decided separately later.

In addition to the R1.25 lakh to be charged from political parties, an additional R50,000 will be charged for air conditioning.

Tournament or sports function fall in category A and will be charged R15,000 per day up from the existing rate of R5,000 for eight hours continuously between 8am and 10pm and for additional hours up to 10pm, R800 per hour.

Non-commercial functions other than sports, such as school annual day fall in category B. They will be charged R50,000 from the existing R20,000. Political meetings and activities such as exhibitions, fashion shows, cultural programmess, kavi sammelan and even religious functions fall in category C and will be charged the highest.

The last time NDMC had hiked the charges were in 2006.