NSCI gets notice for ‘flouting’ civic lease conditions

Mumbai: The BMC has served a showcause notice to the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) at Worli for alleged violation of several lease conditions.
The NSCI, while denying any wrongdoing, has blamed revamp of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel stadium at a cost of Rs 350 crore for its financial woes. “It is a white elephant created by the previous management committee but we cannot let it die,” said T C Krishnaswamy, chief executive officer, NSCI.
The plot was leased to the club in 1951 for 99 years. The BMC notice, which was issued on July 28, states the Olympic oval stadium is not being made available to school children since it is kept occupied for other activities such as music concerts, wedding functions, exhibitions, shows and corporate events for a majority of the time.
“The municipal corporation’s permission for use of the Olympic oval stadium for any purpose other than sports activities as per the lease agreement is not being obtained and several non-sporting events have already been conducted without prior permission of the municipal commissioner, resulting in an enormous loss of revenue in the form of premium,” reads the notice.
It adds the NSCI entered into an agreement (sub-letting the stadium) in November 2014 with Cineyug Worldwide. The agreement stipulates that Cineyug Worldwide will pay Rs 17.7 crore for the first year and the amount is to be increased every year by 12% so that by the ninth year, Cineyug would have paid NSCI Rs 48.9 crore. “This is a clear commercial exploitation of the BMC land given for a noble purpose of sports activity on a very nominal yearly ground rent.”
The notice said the agreement with Cineyug is falsely titled “Operation and Management Agreement”. Sources said this is to “technically” ensure that prima facie it does not appear as a sub-lease. The notice points out that Cineyug Worldwide is not connected with the sports sectors nor is a registered sports organization but is engaged in the entertainment business.
“The said Cineyug Worldwide has already organized several entertainment events which are not categorized under sports activities,” said the notice, pointing out that it violates lease conditions that do not allow the plot to be assigned or transferred without the municipal commissioner’s consent in writing.
During site inspection, the civic estates department allegedly found breaches, including extension of a badminton hall, a store near the tennis court, construction of a room on the terrace, sheds in open spaces and so on. Sources said a salon is also being run in the stadium. Club officials said they have already paid Rs 44 lakh for various breaches.