Shimla, May 30: Yog Guru Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust got a rude shock with the revenue authorities pegging the revised lease amount at Rs 12 crore for a 96.02 bigha land at Kehlog village in the Kandaghat sub-division as against the earlier amount of Rs 17,31,214. The amount has been worked out as per the revised lease rules whereby one-tenth of the circle rate is taken into consideration.
The existing circle rate of this land was Rs 12.85 lakh per bigha as per the revenue records.A letter stating revival of the lease as per the new norms has been sent to the trust by the Deputy Commissioner and their reply was awaited, confirmed Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kanwar.
Interestingly, while in the opposition the Congress had claimed that the land was valued at Rs 35.4 crore and they had contended that it had been given away at a throwaway price to the trust.The state government had cancelled this lease after assuming power in its first year in February 2013. Though the trust had moved high court in protest as they had already incurred expenditure of Rs 14 crore over the land, the state government had expressed its willingness to revive the lease if the trust withdrew its case.
Laxmi Dutt Sharma, a trust representative, while terming it as a betrayal of their trust, said it was unfair to introduce new lease norms midway when Rs 14 crore had been incurred on this medical science, research, health and tourism project. The trust had withdrawn the case as per the condition laid by the state government but they had failed to honour their word and Rs 12 crore was an exorbitant amount as lease money.
He added that this decision has disappointed the people who were banking on the revival of this project for economic gains.The land had been leased as per the HP Lease Rules, 1993, for 99 years on payment of Rs 17,31,214. It was supposed to be used for the sole purpose of setting up a medical centre.
The lease had been granted by the previous BJP government on January 19, 2010 but the project had run into rough weather when Congress assumed power in 2013.The first phase of this project was due to be inaugurated by the Yog Guru a day before its lease was cancelled by the state government in 2013.
Source Tribune India
