NDMC breather: Coffee House to brew on for now

“We had a meeting with the NDMC chairperson to discuss our issues over shutting down the Coffee House,” C S Baiju,Secretary,Indian Coffee Workers Cooperative Society,said. “Although the court has asked us to vacate in case of non-payment,NDMC has agreed to give us an extension of two months if we submit an undertaking that we will pay our dues eventually.”

Baiju said the Coffee House management owes NDMC around Rs 40 lakh in rent and interest. “We are not in a position to pay the outstanding amount as ordered by the Patiala House court,” he said,“and our appeal seeking a stay against the order was rejected by the court earlier last month.” Baiju said the Coffee House management has informed NDMC that it would pay Rs 10 lakh “as soon as possible”,and pay up the rest in installments.

Earlier this year,NDMC had sent a court direction to Indian Coffee House asking it to clear outstanding dues or vacate the premises.

The management of the Coffee House,founded in 1957,has defaulted in payment of the subsidised rent of Rs 6,000 per month since 2003.