Over 40% leases of government have expired long ago
25 Feb, 2013An application was filed by the former information commissioner at the Central Information Commission Mr. Shailesh Gandhi under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to know the status of various land leases awarded by the government of Maharashtra in Mumbai.
The reply provided by the city collector states that around 40% government leases have expired far back. It states that out of 1, 282 leased plots, the lease of 532 plots have long expired and have not been renewed since then.
These expired leases are causing the government to lose thousand of crores of rupees of revenue. The reply states that the government is getting mere Rs. 48.82 crore for 51.66 lakh sq m of leased land in south Mumbai. Some leased land like 404 sq m of land leased to Mulaji Haridas in Colaba continues to fetch a meagre Rs. 0.06 per year despite its expiry in 1954.
Apart from this, for 48 plots neither the signing date of lease nor the period of lease is mentioned, for another 55 plots period of lease is absent and for another 3 plots the date of signing of lease is missing.