State govt refuses to pay hefty rent for Ghaziabad mayor's residence

The Uttar Pradesh government has refused to bear the hefty monthly rent of Rs one lakh of Ghaziabad Mayor Asha Sharma's residence-cum-camp office, an official said on Thursday.

Ghaziabad Municipal Commissioner Dinesh Chandra Singh told PTI that the mayor has been conveyed the state government's objection and refusal to pay the hefty rent for her residence-cum-camp office hired on lease in the city's posh Raj Nagar locality.

Singh said the government has conveyed its objection to his office through a letter by Deputy Secretary Kalyan Banerji.

The deputy secretary's letter has made it clear that the mayor would either pay the rent herself or vacate the house.

Senior Bhartiya Janata Party leader and Nagar Nigam councilor Rajendra Tyagi, who had been spearheading a protest against the payment of steep rent for the mayor's house from state exchequer, said the rent agreement which was signed by additional municipal commissioner must be cancelled immediately so that the civic body gets rid of the liability.

He said the Nagar Nigam board last year had passed a resolution in its general body meeting for hiring a three-room accommodation for the mayor's camp office.

The officials, however, misinterpreted the board's resolution and hired a 800-sqm house, much bigger than the mayor's entitlement, instead.