By Sumit Kumar Singh

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS): Delay caused by the Ministry of Defence in taking decision for renewal of leases of defence land has incurred a loss of Rs 27.42 crore to the exchequer, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) finds in its report on Union Government (Defence Services)-Army, sources in the Rajya Sabha said on Friday.

Renewal of leases has been delayed by 13 years for Residency Club in Pune, 6 years for Union Gymkhana Club in Belgaum, 6 years for Belgaum Club, 26 years for Ahmedabad Gymkhana Club and 7 years for Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

"These clubs continued to be in unauthorised occupation of defence land, using it for commercial purposes," the report stated.

The delay in finalisation of policy for renewal by the ministry has led to a loss of interest on arrears of lease rent to the government.

The CAG found out that the Ministry of Defence had not finalised the policy for renewal of leases of defence land leased to sports and recreational clubs as of June 2018.

On Friday, the CAG presented the report on Union Government (Defence Services)-Army in Rajya Sabha but failed to table it in Lok Sabha. This stopped Rajiv Mehrishi, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, from releasing the report.