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Journalism of Courage
The party is not paying any rent to govt for the property,spread over 2 acres
The Mayawati government spent Rs 18.15 crore on the construction and renovation of the Bahujan Samaj Party state headquarters at 12,Mall Avenue,according to information obtained under RTI. But the BSP has not been paying any rent to the government for this property,spread over about 2 acres,in a posh area of Lucknow,it is learnt.
Originally,a bungalow stood at the place and it was usually allotted to ministers. In 2007,when Mayawati became chief minister,the BSP moved in. Soon the bungalow was demolished. Over the next few years,a fortress-like structure,with high walls and iron gates,was built. A road separates it from 13,Mall Avenue,which is the official residence of Mayawati as a former chief minister.
However,even after spending so much money,the Mayawati government never fixed the rent of the property which is located in a high-security zone. Nor has the Akhilesh Yadav government,which has been in power for the last six months,done this.
Interestingly,BSP national general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui,who was PWD minister in the Mayawati government,said he did not know anything about the rent of the party office building. It is a government property but I will have to check whether the rent is being paid or not, he said.
In response to an application filed under the RTI Act,the government has informed that initially Rs 2.95 crore was sanctioned on September 25,2007 for various renovation works inside 12,Mall Avenue. But the work kept increasing and several more sanctions were given over the next four years,taking the total to more than Rs 18.15 crore.
After two months,Rs 4.99 crore was sanctioned on November 16,2007,for construction of a big meeting hall. Another Rs 1.09 crore was sanctioned on the same date for construction of a small meeting hall. Again,on March 2,2009,the government sanctioned Rs 1.24 crore for various construction works inside both the big and small meeting halls. On the same date,another Rs 64.21 lakh was sanctioned for renovation and construction of the upper portion of the small meeting hall.
Further,the government sanctioned Rs 5.36 crore on different dates between May 2009 and February 2010 for construction inside the small meeting hall and other works. On June 28,2011,the state government sanctioned Rs 1.87 crore for construction works related with parking,toilets and renovation of rooms.
The Estate Department,which owns the property,has also informed that it has so far paid Rs 17.34 crore to the UP Rajkiya Nirman Nigam,which was the construction agency. But Estate Officer Raj Kishor Yadav said he had no idea whether rent was being charged from the BSP for use of his departmets property.
