Necklace Road fun zones told to pay Telangana dues

HYDERABAD: Cracking the whip on managements evading lease rent and revenue share of Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects, the state government on Thursday warned that their water and power connections would be cut if they failed to clear arrears running into crores.
The decision was taken by tourism minister V Srinivas Goud during a review meeting on PPP projects with officials on Thursday.The minister ordered officials to take action as per the lease agreements with firms running these projects on government land. He asked officials to write to power utilities and water board to disconnect services to these establishments.
Goud said that about half-a-dozen firms that developed projects on government land, especially around Necklace Road such as Prasad’s Imax, Jal Vihar and Snow World have not been paying government its revenue share for the past few years. He said previous governments allotted land to these organisations with an intention to convert them into tourist spots and now many of them were making profits.
“Many of these organisations have been earning huge revenue, but not paying the amount due to the government. If these commercial organisations do not fall in line and clear the arrears, action should be taken immediately as per the agreement conditions unless there is a valid reason for default,” the minister told tourism department officials.
When officials informed that some organisations have got a stay from courts preventing any action against them, Goud said that the tourism department should also take appropriate legal measures to counter them.
The minister asked officials to submit an action taken report at the earliest. Tourism development corporation managing director Manohar was also present at Thursday’s meeting.