The cash-strapped Kochi Corporation is not keen on collecting rent from buildings it had rented out to various individuals and agencies, according to auditors.
Various licensees owed the civic body a basic rent of ₹1.17 crore, excluding 18% GST, penal interest, and six months’ rent, which has to be paid as deposit with the civic body, the audit report for the year 2020-2021 said.
According to the report, a perusal of the revenue records of the Corporation indicated that it had not acted against defaulters who had failed even to pay the basic rent. Several licensees have not paid the 5% hike in rent, which they were bound to pay. Despite non-payment of the basic rent, the civic body did not issue any legal note to defaulters. It also did not initiate steps to recover the dues, the report said.
The auditors slammed the legal cell of the Corporation for failure to explain the steps it had taken to vacate stay orders issued by courts on collection of rent. The Corporation should explain as to what prevented it from collecting rent in cases with no legal impediments. Though the civic body was asked to explain the steps it had taken to collect rent arrears on April 28, 2022, by way of an audit inquiry, no reply was furnished, they said.
The auditors found that details of rent were not entered in the demand register of the Corporation. In some cases, rent details were found entered on several pages of the register with pencil. An annual rent of ₹10.84 lakh was due from some licensees who had taken stalls in the five markets of the Corporation on rent during 2020-21.
No proactive steps were taken by officials to collect rent, which is a major income source of the civic body, the report said.
The seven licensees of the Edappally market stall did not pay even one instalment of the rent during the audit period. The query regarding dues invoked no response from the Corporation, the report said.
