BENGALURU: A whopping Rs 36.22 crore is due as arrears to the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) from its tenants spread across its commercial complexes in the city. The chief defaulters are government organisations, who owe it nearly half the pending amount.
A senior government official told The New Indian Express that a major crackdown was underway across its four zones to make all the present and past occupants pay up through repeated notices. "Our biggest defaulter is the government. Over Rs 16.15 crore is due as rent from nine government organisations," he said.
Giving a break-up of the pending arrears as on January 31 this year, he said that the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal was the biggest defaulter with Rs 5.23 crore pending, followed by the RTOs which owe it Rs 2.89 crore.
Among other pending amounts from government agencies are: E-Governance offices : Rs 1.57 crore, Central Administrative Tribunal: Rs 1.57 crore, Excise: 1.22 crore; Karnataka Electricity Board: Rs 1.22 crore, Railways Rs 95 lakh, Police: Rs 63 lakh and Sub-Registrar: Rs 84.48 lakh.
There are 16 shopping complexes owned by BDA with six each in the East and West Division while 3 are in the North and 1 in the South. The East Division, which has 477 shops has the biggest defaulters who need to pay Rs 29.85 crore out of the Rs 36.22 crore, said another official. "The big complexes of HSR Layout and Indira Nagar vegetable complex and Indira Nagar Shopping Complex, Koramangala as well as Domlur and Austin Town figure in it. Though we will be rebuilding Indira Nagar and Austin Town, the occupants have vacated and the rent is still due. We are repeatedly making efforts to get them," he said.
The biggest non-government defaulter is Waldel which owes the BDA Rs 20.4 lakh. "It was just Rs 12 lakh four years ago but the accumulated arrears have touched this sum now," a revenue official said.
The North Division needs to collect Rs 1.55 crore, the West Rs 2.07 crore and the South which has only the Banashankari Shopping Complex: Rs 2.75 crore.