KOCHI: Maharaja’s College is owed around Rs 3.5 crore in rent for commercial space leased out at its stadium, a right to information (RTI) document has revealed. The issue of non-collection of rent from traders has, time and again, been taken up by the alumni and student organisations. However, the college governing council and administration has remained non-committal on the issue.
According to the college’s Kerala Students Union (KSU) unit president Rajeev Patrick, “Tenants owe the college Rs 3.5 crore. This is not a meagre amount. However, the college, which cites lack of funds for development work, is doing nothing to collect the dues.”
He pointed out that, as per an RTI reply to queries posed by an advocate, there are 13 shops in the stadium complex. The document shows that the rent default ranges from Rs 22,00,000 to Rs 45,00,000 . “It also reveals that the last rent paid by some of them was in 2018, and that too a nominal amount of Rs 15,000. They have yet to clear the dues incurred from earlier defaults,” Rajeev said.
“Development of the college has slowed to a crawl. Students are not even receiving basic facilities. Many college buildings are in a dangerous condition. Recently, many portions of the heritage buildings collapsed. The history block sustained damage due to water retention.
Many parts of the Malayalam department are in a dangerous condition. The college governing council must be held accountable for several issues. The most important being who is benefitting from the rent money that the college is due. Authorities are making compromises. It is akin to giving free space to shop owners,” Rajeev added.