Punjab tourism dept property in Goa: CM Mann orders cancellation of lease pact
Eight acres were given on a monthly lease of Rs 1 lakh to a private hospitality firm by former CM Charanjit Channi
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The tourism department will now send a notice to the company stating that the government would be cancelling the lease. (Express File) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Wednesday ordered the cancellation of a lease pact with a private hotel regarding the tourism department’s property in Goa, sources said. The property was given on lease during the tenure of the previous Congress government under CM Charanjit Singh Channi.
Eight acres of land were given to a private hospitality company for Rs 1 lakh per month. Eyebrows were raised as to how the government property at a prime tourist destination in the country could be given on lease for Rs 1 lakh.
The tourism department will now send a notice to the company stating that the government would be cancelling the lease.
A senior government functionary said that Goa had relaxed the specifications for sea-facing resorts in the state, which had given the government an opportunity way to cancel the lease. The Punjab government will now invite fresh tenders for leasing out the property. It hopes to get a good amount from the lease for the state exchequer every month, sources said.
“We will have to issue a notice first and have to wait for the reply. Let us see. But the lease amount was peanuts,” said an officer.
Earlier, the Vigilance Bureau had started an investigation into the anomalies pertaining to the lease pact, based on the directions of CM Mann after he got on a preliminary report from an IAS officer. Senior officials had even got in touch with the functionaries of the Goa administration and verified the price of land and if the government could set up its own resort. An official had later visited Goa to prepare a detailed report.
A functionary said that there should not be an issue in cancelling the lease agreement from the government side as three companies of the Tourism Department, Gulmohar Resorts, Satkar Holidays and the Punjab Tourism Development Corporation, which had stake in the property had not given post facto approval for lease. However, after inviting bids from private parties, the property was leased by the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board to the bidder. “However, the lease agreement is infructuous,” said a functionary.
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