BTC owes Rs. 32.86 crore rentals to Government

With non-renewal of land lease agreement with the State Government for the last one decade, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the State Legislative Assembly yesterday directed the State Government to take steps for the closure of all activities, including racing, of the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) in Bengaluru from Dec.2.

It also directed the Government to recover pending rentals amounting to Rs.32.86 crore before Nov.30.

A 15-member PAC, headed by Congress MLA and former Minister H.K. Patil, has directed the Law Secretary to take all necessary steps to settle a legal dispute regarding the BTC in the Supreme Court (SC) and submit a report on actions taken to settle the dispute to the Committee in the first week of December.

The PAC’s decision has been conveyed to Additional Chief Secretary (Public Works) Rajneesh Goel who attended the meeting. According to the PAC, the BTC owes an estimated Rs.32.86 crore to the Government which is 2% of its turnover as annual rent between 2010-11 and 2017-18. The amount it was supposed to have remitted to the Government between 1989 and 1998 is still due.

With its land lease period having expired in 2009, BTC has been facing the threat of eviction and the matter is pending before the SC. An interim Apex Court order has directed for status quo. “Officials have been citing this as an excuse. It has been decided to direct the Government to take necessary legal steps within one month to clear the SC case,” the PAC said.

In 1923, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar had given 83 acre 14 gunta land to the Race Club. In 1983, a contract was signed between Karnataka Government and the Turf Club for a period of 30 years with retrospective effect from 1981.

As per the contract, the BTC had to pay Rs.5 lakh per annum. In 1989, the Government decided to end the contract. However, the Turf Club did not return the land to the Government. Further, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report in 1998 had indicated a loss of Rs.71.87 crore to the exchequer owing to the unauthorised operations.

Successive Governments have also decided to relocate the Turf Club. The then Finance Minister Ramakrishna Hegde Government proposed it first in 1968. In 2000, the then CM S.M. Krishna had proposed to relocate it to the city outskirts. However, no action has been taken till now.