HYDERABAD: After a city-based lawyer claimed that the lease of Exhibition Grounds, where the annual All India Industrial Exhibition or the Numaish is held, has been cancelled, based on an RTI petition he filed. However, the minister for finance Etela Rajender and the president of the Exhibition Society came out calling it untrue.
The lawyer, Aijazuddin Khaja, filed an RTI with an intention to initiate a public interest litigation regarding the procedure and reasons behind leasing out 24 acres of public land for an annual rent of only Rs 2,46, 750. He also stated that the government has a vested interest and since he would take up the matter in court, the government has decided to cancel the lease which was initially for a period of 50 years.
“There was no transparency in leasing out this land to the society and there was no open auction. Why would the government lease out such a prime spot in the city for such a throwaway price? Since it is the state’s land, it is questionable,” said the lawyer. The Exhibition Society, which was started in the Nizam Era by a group of Osmania University graduates, was registered under the Companies Act as a non-profit organisation in 1956. Following this, the society, among other activities, has been diverting its profits towards 18 educational institutions with special interest in encouraging education for girls.
The information revealed under the RTI filed by Khaja states, the then Andhra Pradesh government had extended the lease on the Exhibition Grounds which was initially from April 1986 to 2002, to March 2052 as per GO MS 337.
“The Exhibition Society has formed 76 years ago with the noble intention of providing a space for indigenous communities to promote their crafts and currently also supports 18 educational institutions. Based on his direction, we are working on processing this and that the lease has been cancelled is untrue,” stated the clarification.