Wednesday, June 13, 2012

This is daylight robbery : North, News - India Today

This is daylight robbery : North, News - India Today:


A yet to be tabled Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) report has once again blown the lid off the massive loot of public property in the name of development.
This case relates to the modernisation of the Delhi airport by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) joint venture. The incredibly sweet deal that DIAL got, included the provision of nearly 5,000 acres of land for an annual lease rent ofRs.100 for a period of 60 years.
As part of the deal, AAI permitted DIAL to utilise 5 per cent of the land for commercial purposes. A consultancy firm has worked out the valuation of the land atRs.100 per acre which would peg the total current value atRs.24,000 crore.
The CAG has pointed out that of theRs.12,502 crore capital expenditure, DIAL has contributed 19 per cent, while 54 per cent has come from loans and security deposits, and as much as 27 per cent was generated through airport development fees that the passengers have been paying. The auditor has noted that the original deal had not mentioned that part of the cost would be raised through such fees.
The decision to modernise the airport and the policy decisions related to it were taken by the Union Cabinet and an empowered group of ministers and approved by the Supreme Court.

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