Government issues notice to PTI over ₹84 crore dues for Parliament Street office

Amount includes ground rent and regularisation charges for unauthorised construction since 1984, says official

July 13, 2020 01:25 pm | Updated 09:26 pm IST - NEW DELHI

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry’s Land and Development Office (L&DO) has issued a notice to news agency Press Trust of India over unpaid dues for its office on Parliament Street, giving it time till August 7 to pay the amount of ₹84.48 crore or face penalty and further action as per the lease agreement.

The notice issued by the L&DO on July 7 stated that the “breaches” committed should be removed by Tuesday.

 

According to a Ministry official, the pending dues include ground rent and regularisation charges for unauthorised construction since 1984. The official said no payments of the dues had been made since then.

Asked about the timing of the notice, the official said the process had started before the lockdown that was imposed in March and that an inspection was conducted in February.

 

A spokesperson for PTI said: “We have just received a demand notice. We are seeking clarification from authorities, and have no further comments for now.”

The L&DO’s notice comes just weeks after state broadcaster Prasar Bharti threatened to cancel its subscription with the news agency, which is the largest in the country. In a letter to PTI on June 27, Prasar Bharti said the news agency’s coverage was “detrimental to national interest”.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.