In a meeting between members of the Gymkhana Club at Sector 29 on Sunday, they decided to protest against Huda’s decision to lease out a land within the premises of the club to a tent house for a mere sum of ?35 lakh annually for a period of nine years. According to the members, the prime land has been leased at an extremely inexpensive sum and points to ‘malpractice’. They will approach the chief minister’s office, the Haryana police headquarters, vigilance department and urban local bodies for starting an investigation into the matter.
Apart from this, they will also take out a candle light march and even go for a hunger strike to step up their demand. “For leasing the same land for functions, the Huda charges ?9 lakh from non-members and ?6.30 lakh from members per booking. It is inexplicable how Billu Tent House (the concessionaire) got the land for such a minimal sum,” Abhay Jain, one of the members for the club, said. Jain added that the members are also planning to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the matter.
As per club members, the Huda estate office 2 signed the agreement with the concessionaire without issuing any tender or listing out any specifications on the deal, apart from a one-time investment of ?45 lakh by the tent house for construction purposes.
According to Huda officials, the tender to the tent house for supplying tent material was first awarded in 2007 and consequently extended until 2014. In 2014, a decision to lease the land to the tent house was taken, but was pending. However, the same was rectified in Huda’s general body meeting earlier this year.
