The stage has been set for the Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation (KTDFC) to hand over the lease of the commercial space of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) terminal complex on the Mavoor Road here with the division bench of the Kerala High Court dismissing a writ petition moved by one of the disgruntled bidders.
Earlier the High Court had stayed the decision of the KTDFC to give the contract to Mukkom-based company MAK Associates after a petition was filed by K.K. Abdulla of Thamarassery questioning the ambiguity in the contract norms and the State government’s notification in the extraordinary gazette that the Kerala Lease and Rent Control Act was not applicable to leasing the commercial complex.
According to the agreement inked between the MAK Associates and the KTDFC, the company would invest Rs.50 crore as non-refundable security deposit and pay a monthly rent of Rs.50 lakh for the commercial space.
The contract period would be 30 years and the rent would be hiked by 10 per cent every three years. However, the lessee will also get a rent holiday for 18 months.
The KTDFC, a non-banking financial company fully owned by the government, which had constructed the bus station complex for the KSRTC, had not been able to award the contract of the commercial portion of the multi-storey building for various reasons including the stringent norms for the contract since the complex had been opened June 1, 2015.
The KTDFC had been compelled to invite tenders for the third time relaxing some of the contract norms after failing to find suitable bidders. One of the earlier conditions was that the bidder should take the building on rent with an investment of Rs.73 crore for 15 years and pay monthly rent of Rs.1.83 crore.
