The Hindu Business Line : AP House panel to probe sops to I-Max owners

A committee to be constituted by the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly will examine allotment of land and various other concessions to Prasad Productions Ltd (PPL) for construction and operation of an I-Max theatre, multiplexes, food courts and shopping arcade at N. T. R. Gardens near the State Secretariat by the previous Telugu Desam Government.

The State Tourism Minister, Ms J. Geeta Reddy, agreed to institute the probe following a heated discussion in the House for more than an hour on Monday. Congress legislators, Mr P. Janardhana Reddy, Mr T. Jeevan Reddy and others, who raised the subject during the question hour vociferously demanded for an enquiry by a House Committee into the entire issue. The members alleged that PPL had received undue favours from the previous Chandrababu Naidu Government.

The Minister, however, contended that the project was awarded to PPL as per the provisions of the AP Tourism Policy, 1998.

She told the members that an extent of 10,832 square yards of land was allotted to PPL on lease basis for 33 years at a rent of 5 per cent of the market value with an annual escalation of another 5 per cent. The market value of the land at the time of allotment was fixed at Rs 11,000 per square yard.

This apart, the Minister said, PPL had to pay the State Government an Additional Development Consideration of Rs 2.5 lakhs per month or 15 per cent of the gross receipts, whichever was higher, after a two-year holiday period from the date of commercial operations of the project. On expiry of the lease period, unless extended, the land with all structures would revert to the Government.

The Minister said that the Government had also exempted PPL from payment of Entertainment Tax for a period of five years. It had also relaxed classification of seats and the entrance rates for the I-Max theatre and multiplexes.

As the members sought more details about the project and also the other projects that came up on the Necklace Road, the Minister said that she would furnish further details before the end of the current session of the Legislative Assembly. She finally agreed to the demand for ordering a House Committee probe into the issue.

Earlier, TDP legislator and former Home Minister, Mr T. Devender Goud, urged the members not to politicise the issue. He wanted the Government to examine whether similar concessions were not issued for I-Max theatres and multiplexes in other States.

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