Double discount for Buddha-backed book fair

Trust the government not to play by the book when it comes to making concessions for Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s favourite fair.

The organisers of the 35th Calcutta Book Fair have been granted a hefty reduction of rent for the Milan Mela fairground along with some additional discounts, the final payable figure of Rs 25 lakh paling in comparison to the original sum of Rs 3.14 crore.

“The Publishers and Booksellers Guild had lobbied for a post-concession figure as close as possible to last year’s Rs 18 lakh (the actual rent was Rs 38 lakh). Buddhababu being the book fair’s guardian angel, all necessary steps were taken to scale down the amount,” said an official at Writers’ Buildings.

Metro had reported on December 16 how finance minister Asim Dasgupta, under instructions from chief minister Bhattacharjee, had tweaked the revised Milan Mela rent structure to benefit the 12-day book fair from January 26.

The revision was done in the absence of industries minister Nirupam Sen, who had announced days earlier that a profit-making venture like the book fair would no longer get hefty concessions.

The final rent was calculated at Rs 76 lakh, not accounting for a “ fair grant” of Rs 20 lakh from the information and cultural affairs department and some unexplained “adjustments” between the finance and commerce and industries departments.

“An amount of Rs 31 lakh will be adjusted between the finance and commerce and industries departments,” said a senior official.

What that means is that the guild will get to use Milan Mela — and all the facilities added since last year — for a mere Rs 7 lakh more than last year’s rent for its 25-day occupation of the Bypass fairground.

An official said the figure of Rs 76 lakh was arrived at after “drastically reducing” the rent twice in as many days.

On December 14, at chief minister Bhattacharjee’s behest, finance minister Dasgupta apparently struck a rent deal with the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the organiser of the 10-day Industrial India Trade Fair from December 24.

The chamber had initially been asked to pay Rs 2.5 crore for its 20-day occupation of the ground, against Rs 50 lakh for the last edition of the fair.

But with industries minister Sen being away in Hyderabad for a party programme, the Milan Mela rent was reduced to Rs 6 lakh a day, setting a precedent for the Calcutta Book Fair to make its move for concessions.

“Based on what was offered to the industry chamber, the book fair organisers were asked to pay Rs 1.52 crore. But the guild wanted more concessions and the government obliged it the very next day,” said a senior official.

On December 15, Dasgupta drew up a second formula with Rs 6 lakh being a day’s rent for fairs of a commercial nature and half that amount for non-commercial fairs.

The book fair organised by the guild, whose balance sheet for the last fiscal shows a profit of Rs 22.6 lakh and a healthy deposit of Rs 1.25 crore, was classified as a non-commercial event.

Minister Sen was unavailable for comment on his failed attempt to put chief minister Bhattacharjee’s beloved book fair in the profit category and pinch its swelling coffers with a daily rent bill of Rs 12.25 lakh.

Guild secretary Tridib Chatterjee confirmed the rate slash while leaving Writers’ on Tuesday after a meeting with minister Dasgupta.

He expressed satisfaction at the deal, but said the gains would be negated by “a loss of Rs 40 lakh” in terms of earnings. For, like the book fair, book-lovers will enjoy a special concession this year: entry is free.