The South Delhi Municipal Corporation today claimed that it "does not owe" any rent to the Civic Centre-headquartered NDMC here, and said differences if any, between the two civic bodies on the issue would be "internally resolved".
The erstwhile unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was trifurcated into -- north, south and east corporations in 2012. The Civic Centre on Minto Road falls in north Delhi area, and currently houses the SDMC and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).
While East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) is headquartered in Patparganj in east Delhi, the SDMC is yet to get its headquarters, proposed to be built in Dwarka in south Delhi.
The NDMC therefore has been demanding from SDMC, the commensurate rent from that period.
"We do not owe any rent to NDMC. The land on which the Civic Centre stands was jointly alloted to all three municipal bodies, with earnings in the ratio of 40, 40 and 20 per cent for the north, south and the east corporations respectively.
"Plus, for building the EDMC headquarters, land was alloted for which DSIIDC (Delhi State Industrial And Infrastructure Development Corporation) was moved to south Delhi, where we accommodated it in a prime land. So, where is the question of us owing any money to any entity now," SDMC Standing Committee Chairman Radhey Shyam Sharma claimed.
In a reply to questions on the subject from mediapersons at the Civic Centre, he said, "The NDMC had sought answer from us on this matter and we have given them the reply. And, any issue on this would be resolved internally."
A top official of the NDMC, when contacted said, "Whatever step the corporation (NDMC) takes on this would be decided by its standing committee."
After trifurcation in 2012, the NDMC, EDMC and SDMC were constituted on April 30, May 1 and May 2 respectively, the official said.
"And, therefore, at the rate of Rs 12 crore a month, the SDMC owes NDMC till now, a rent of over Rs 450 crore," a source said.
Whether the matter is to be resolved internally or otherwise, the future course of action would be decided by the NDMC's standing committee, the source said.
Both NDMC and EDMC are cash-strapped and only the SDMC has managed to stay out of the red.
