JOIN USGurgaon's live theatre in trouble
After having repeatedly defaulted in the payment of lease money to Haryana
Urban Development Authority (HUDA) for past 15 months, the lease of Kingdom of Dreams — touted as India’s first live entertainment and theatre destination in Gurgaon — may get cancelled, say sources.
The dues are reportedly amounted to be over Rs 11 crore.
The six-acre plot was given on a lease of 15 years to Great Indian Nautanki Company on an agreement which required the owner to pay Rs 36 lakh every month to Haryana government’s urban development agency — HUDA. One of the clauses also entitles HUDA to cancel the lease in case of non-payment of dues.
A senior officer in HUDA, who is closely linked to the development, said, “I have apprised of this to the administrator asking for the next course of action to be taken against the company. We have reminded the lessee (Great Indian Nautanki Company) of their outstanding amount several times in past.”
The administrator Parveen Kumar told Deccan Herald that the company’s dues are of two kinds.
Two notices
“One is the undisputed lease money which accrued in past 15 months. It’s a liability the company admits but has failed to pay despite two notices sent by us,” said Kumar.
“The last notice was sent more than a month ago. The second part is disputed and relates to the time when we gave the plot’s possession in 2009. They refuse to pay on the grounds that their project had been delayed by one year,” added Kumar.
Another senior HUDA officer speaking on similar lines said, “We have asked them to pay lease money since the time we handed over the plot but they started paying a year later because the Kingdom of Dreams was open to public only then.”
“None of the two parties (HUDA and Kingdom of Dreams) want to give in because an amount of Rs 5 crore is at stake,” he added.
The administrator also said the matter pertaining to disputed dues has been sent to HUDA’s head office for chief administrator’s intervention.
On being asked if the lease can be cancelled in case of non-payment, he did not give a definite reply.
The official spokesperson of Great Indian Nautanki Company did not say anything ‘on record’ in response to the query.
However, company’s public relations representative said, “The lines of communication are still open between the company and HUDA and by next week, dues will be cleared.”
Sources also revealed that the company — a joint venture between Apra Group and Wizcraft — is mulling to dilute its equity to raise money so that it can pay its dues.