ITIs on PPP mode: Punjab Govt decision to end lease with private educational society in Abohar upheld

Rajmeet Singh

Chandigarh, October 5

The Punjab Infrastructure Regulatory Authority (PIRA) has upheld the decision of the Department of Technical Education and Industrial Training to terminate the lease agreement with a private educational society running Industrial Training Institute (ITI) from a government building at Abohar.

While hearing an adjudication petition filed by one of the institutions, Social Welfare Society (ITI, Abohar), against the department, PIRA, while upholding the termination notice, directed the department to calculate the pending lease amount.

The department has also been directed to fix responsibility and take action against its officials for lapses in closely monitoring and implementing the concession agreement signed in December 2004. Hearing on similar petitions filed by six other societies is in the process.

Apart from the ITI at Abohar, the department has issued termination notices to five other private societies for violation of the lease agreement, including non-payment of lease money. Each ITI has strength of 300 students.

The societies that have been issued termination notices are Sri Guru Nanak Dev Education Trust, Dalewal, Hoshiarpur; Sri Guru Angad Dev Educational Society, Khadoor Sahib, Amritsar; Shyama Shyam Society, Banarsi (Moonak), Sangrur; St Soldier Educational Society, Shahkot; and Balaji Education Trust, Nathana, Bathinda.

Rahul Bhandari, Secretary, Department of Technical Education and Industrial Training, said the department had received the PIRA order and the defaulting amount would be recovered as per provisions of the agreement.

The institutions had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the termination notices. However, the HC directed them to file an adjudication petition before PIRA, a statutory body that regulates private investment under the PPP mode in social and infrastructure sectors.

Rakesh Ahuja, general secretary of the Social Welfare Society (ITI, Abohar), said they had filed an appeal before PIRA. “There is no default in payment. Issues related to revenue sharing of fee collected from students, levying of compound interest and other issues have been contested by us.”

Leased out in 2004

In 2004, the government leased out nine ITIs to private players for 33 years. As per the agreement signed between the government and private players, the lessees had to provide infrastructure, get approval for courses and pay the lease money (termed concession fee).

Dept’s stand

The department has claimed that despite enhancing the academic fee, the societies did not share the incremental concession fee with it. This resulted in accumulation of concession fee and incremental concession fee along with interest from eight societies amounting to Rs 8.47 crore till March 2020, as per a CAG report. “If the default amount is calculated till date, the amount will cross Rs 10 crore”, said officials.