Minister for Tourism and Excise V. Srinivas Goud has asked the authorities to submit a report on dues from the leaseholders of all tourism projects in the State at the earliest and also speed up legal action against agencies which were delaying payment of dues by moving courts.
In a review meeting held with the officials of the department here on Friday, he instructed the officials to file counters in consultation with the Advocate General to the petitions filed by the agencies to delay the payment of dues. The officials explained to the Minister that they had seized Snow World for payment of dues to the tune of ₹15 crore.
The Minister also asked the authorities to take similar action against other agencies running tourism projects and owing payments to the government and run those projects on its (Tourism department) own. The audit wing officials of the department explained to the Minister that several agencies running tourism projects in the public-private partnership mode were owing ₹41.88 crore dues to the department and not ₹234 crore as reported in a section of the media.
