Documents go missing, MC under fire on KVM land lease
Councillors object to the civic body giving land to school for peanuts, demand action against MC officials.
Kundan Vidya Mandir in Ludhiana on Thursday. (Source: Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)
The fate of Kundan Vidya Mandir (KVM), Civil Lines, a posh school running in the city for more than 40 years, is now hanging in the balance. This is all because of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation officials who have misplaced the lease documents which were signed between the school trust and MC officials.
The MC has accepted it in writing that the documents have gone missing and the agenda to enter a new lease agreement with KVM was moved in the House meeting in December last to which councillors from the Congress and BJP objected.
As per information available with zone D Sarabha Nagar of Municipal Corporation, 4,625 square yards of land was given on lease to Kundan Lal Trust which manages the school.
The land was given in 1972 and the agreement for the same was signed on February 28, 1973, and as per the agreement, the MC gave its land to KVM for Rs 250 per year.
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The official agenda note which was presented in the MC House meeting also says that the documents and records of the land lease agreement have gone missing from MC records and thus difficulties are being faced. “There is no document in writing to verify that the lease holder (school) is following the terms and condition of the agreement or not,” says the document.
Kundan Lal Trust on January 18, 2000, wrote a letter to the MC offering to buy 4,625 square yards of land in question. Replying to the request, the MC in its letter, dated December 12, 2000, directed the Kundan Lal Trust to deposit an amount of Rs 1,15,62,500 (Rs 1.15 crore) and buy the land.
In its argument on why the land deal was not finalised with KVM in 2000, the MC says that following the exchange of letters and fixation of deal, the government of Punjab withdrew its policy to sell the land on lease and thus the deal was stalled midway.
Not only the MC has misplaced the papers, but it has also accepted that school since 2000-2001 has not submitted a single penny to the civic body as the lease amount.
The MC now wants to sign a fresh agreement with the school to allot the land and keep the school running but there was an uproar from the councillors who are demanding action against MC officials who misplaced the crucial documents of the lease agreement.
The councillors also argue that the school, a private one under the CBSE, is charging hefty fee from students and giving no concession and thus they should not be given the land at earlier rates of Rs 250 per year but a fresh rate as per current market rates be agreed upon.
Talking to Newsline, BJP councillor Inder Aggarwal said, “The school is not into social work. It is a profit-making private school and there is no question of giving them MC land for peanuts. We do not want the school to shut down as thousands of students study there but the new agreement should be on fresh market rates.”
Parminder Mehta, spokesperson of Congress councillors, said, “There is no question of fresh agreement without action on MC officials who have misplaced records from MC office. The new agreement will be signed only after an inquiry is conducted into the missing documents.”
P S Ghuman, joint commissioner, MC, said, “Since the matter was stalled in the House meeting, nothing has been decided on future course yet. MC land cannot be given on lease without government’s permission and local bodies department will take a final call.”
When contacted, Navita Puri, principal of the school, said, “We have got no communication or notice from MC on missing lease papers till now.”
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