In an unusual intervention, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has directed the Airports Authority of India to recover dues of Rs 77 crore from TDI International India Ltd, an OOH (out-of-home) advertising company, by Thursday.
Sources from the ministry told Business Standard, “Their licence may be cancelled and action for recovery taken if TDI International fails to comply with the deadline.” The ministry says: “This non-payment of dues has been continuing since 2007. TDI International makes partial payments each year."
Following a complaint of favours extended to TDI International by AAI officials despite the large amount owed, Singh has also directed AAI to initiate an enquiry into the matter and fix responsibility on the officers involved.
However, in response to all this, an accounts officer at TDI told Business Standard, “This is a highly exaggerated amount. Even the last penny due towards AAI till date is fully secured through security deposits given by TDI to them. We have been duly paying licence fees to AAI for the last 25 years and have an unblemished record.”
TDI had been given advertising rights at a number of airports, including Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Tirupati, Goa and Jammu.