NGOs, trusts, memorials owe ₹1.40 crore for office space: Hardeep Puri

Since allotments, the nine organisations have paid ₹3.79 crore, Housing and Urban Affairs informs Rajya Sabha.

Hardeep Puri. File

Nine NGOs, trusts, memorials and social organisations had been allotted office space in Lutyens’ Delhi and they had ₹1.40 crore in dues as on June 30, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Mr. Puri’s written reply to a question from the BJP’s Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said space had been allotted to the nine organisations within the limits of the New Delhi Municipal Council. “The payment of rent is regularly monitored through the website of Directorate of Estates,” the reply read. As of June 30, ₹3.79 crore had been received from the organisations from the time of their allotments. “Notices have been issued to the organisations whose rents are due.”

The Ministry’s data showed that ₹64.76 lakhs was pending from the Mahila Dakshata Samiti for its premises in Kidwai Nagar, ₹32.80 lakh from the Fakhruddin Ali Memorial Committee for the allotment at the hutments on Dalhousie Road, ₹30.30 lakh from the Indian Women’s Press Corp (IWPC) at Windsor Place and ₹11.06 lakh from the Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation. The Babu Jagjivan Ram National Foundation and the Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial owed ₹1.50 lakh and ₹18,440 respectively.

The Bahajun Prerna Trust, the Foreign Correspondents Club and the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust had been allotted space and had no dues, the reply said.

The allotments for the IWPC and the FCC ended on January 6, 2021, and for the Mahila Dakshata Samiti on December 31, 2018, according to the reply.

IWPC president Vineeta Pandey said a notice was received on Wednesday and it was the first time such a notice was sent to it. “This is the first time we have been informed of any dues. We will check with the department concerned and clear the same immediately,” she added.

FCC president Munish Gupta said it had applied for renewal.

Mahila Dakshata Samiti president Vinnita Shikhar said a counselling centre was being run at the site allotted by the government. “The lease had expired and we had requested for an extension. The matter is pending. We have paid our licence fees till July,” she said.