Tatas also take premium route

MUMBAI: After Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, the Tatas, too, have opted to pay a one-time premium to secure occupancy rights on a leasehold plot in Juhu.
The 2,700 sq ft plot, which belongs to the state government, abuts a bungalow owned by the Tatas and is used as a lawn. The collector's records show it was first leased out to the Tatas in 1963.
"A communication from the Tatas regarding payment of the premium has been received," a senior official from the collector's office said.
The premium worked out to Rs 74 lakh, said sources.
The recently revised lease lands policy gives occupants the option of paying a one-time premium to secure occupancy rights on the plot.
The premium sought is 20% of the Ready Reckoner value for a residential property, 25% for an industrial property and 30% for a commercial property.
The other option is lease renewal. The suburban collector's office had asked 129 occupants whose leases had run out to go for one of the two options before May 31.
The government got responses from about 70 plot holders; others either sought an extension of time or demanded a personal hearing.
Though the suburban collector's office wrote to them saying no extension could be granted, senior state officials indicated that the government would like to weigh responses from similar plot holders in the island city, who have been granted time till June-end.