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| After Betab valley, Govt to lease out Pahalgam huts to 'influential family' | | PDA to lose Rs 4 cr revenue | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Oct 6: The state government has decided to lease out huts at the Pahalgam golf course to an "influential family" running a chain of hotels in the Valley.
Sources told Early Times that around one dozen high-end huts with facilities including bedrooms, drawing rooms and kitchen are all set to be leased out to the private player by the Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA). While requisite documents have been drafted, the deal will be inked this week.
Though the huts, if marketed properly can fetch a revenue of around Rs 6 crore annually, sources said the deal was likely to be inked at mere around Rs 2 crore, which the "influential business family is willing to pay happily."
"The business family will at least earn a profit of Rs 4 crore within a year in the deal, and it means that while favoring the family, the state exchequer will lose this much of amount," said a PDA official pleading anonymity.
He said the Chief Executive Officer of the PDA in league with a senior official in the Tourism Department and a PDP minister had been lobbying that the "money minting huts" be handed over to the business family so that they earn "personal fortunes."
Insiders said a senior official of the Tourism Department and the CEO of the PDA were hand in glove with the "influential family."
It would be second controversial deal in Pahalgam this year. In June, the government leased out the famed Betab valley, a picturesque spot in Pahalgam to a businessman. That time also the PDA gave away the site for mere Rs 7 crore, though the location was expected to fetch revenue of Rs 24 crore.
Soon after the lease the entry fee to Betab Valley was hiked nine-fold by virtue of which the businessman could gain nine times more profit than expected from the deal.
Eyebrows are being raised over the conduct of PDA's CEO Riyaz Ahmed Wani who is a relative of a senior minister in the cabinet. Business players in Kashmir who are up in arms over the proposed deal and said Wani was the broker between the PDA and the influential families. Meanwhile, a senior official in the Tourism Department confirmed to Early Times that the deal pertaining to leasing out huts was to be inked in a day or two. "Decision has been made at the highest level. No one can stop us from the same," the official said. |
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