CITCO again asks Chandigarh admn to reimburse over Rs 10 crore
Dushyant Singh Pundir
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 1
Facing financial crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation Limited (CITCO) has again sought reimbursement of nearly Rs10.79 crore from the UT Administration on account of expenses incurred for running a UT Guest House in New Delhi and a canteen at the UT Secretariat in the city.
The corporation has been running and managing the UT Secretariat canteen since April 1983 and the New Delhi guest house since November 1984.
In a letter to the Director, Hospitality, the corporation has again sought reimbursement of Rs8.85 crore on account of expenses incurred on running the canteen and Rs1.94 crore on account of running the guest house.
The CITCO authorities stated that on February 24, 1995, the UT Administration had sanctioned subsidy of Rs50,000 per month. However, it was not disbursed to CITCO till date.
Letter to Director, Hospitality
In a letter to the Director, Hospitality, the corporation has sought reimbursement of Rs8.85 crore on account of expenses incurred on running the canteen and Rs1.94 crore on account of running the guest house.
It was further submitted that the subsidy was not increased on an annual basis in view of the increase in vis-a-vis consumer price index. The authorities stated that from financial year 2009-10 to 2017-18, CITCO had incurred average loss of Rs75 lakh per annum on yearly basis, whereas the subsidy of Rs50,000 per month is negligible as compared to the losses. In view of the facts mentioned, the authorities again requested for the reimbursement of expenses incurred by CITCO on actual basis for running and managing the canteen from 1994-95.
Similarly, the authorities stated that a letter was sent to the Secretary, Hospitality, on February 7, 2020, with a request to reimburse the expenses of Rs1.94 crore incurred for running the UT Guest House in New Delhi from 2011-12 to 2018-19. It was, therefore, again requested to reimburse the expenses at the earliest.
A senior official said several reminders had already been sent for the reimbursement of expenses for running the canteen and the guest house, but the Administration did not release any payment till date.
Kashmir Chand, chairman, CITCO Progressive Workers’ Union, stated that the UT Administration should reimburse the expenses at the earliest to support the corporation, which was facing financial crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
