Rs 35 crore recovery notice on elite club

Bhopal: An elite club in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior town, of which senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia is chief patron, has been slapped with Rs 35 crore recovery notice by the local administration.

Jiwaji Club, founded by Jyotiraditya’s late father Madhab Rao Scindia in 1898, has been charged of using its premises for commercial activities without authorisation from the local administration.

“The club is running commercial activities in its premises without authorisation. Besides, it has paid no heed to notices by the local administration to clear its dues. The total dues to be recovered now stood at Rs 35 crore,” a senior Gwalior district officer told this newspaper on Friday.

Club president Sunil Khanduja could not be contacted for his comments despite efforts by this newspaper.

The club took birth in 1898 as “Elgin Club” with an objective to get issues pertaining to the former state of Gwalior deliberated by the eminent citizens in the area.

Later, it was renamed as “Jiwaji Club” by the then ruler of Gwalior estate Jiwaji Rao Scindia in 1936.

At present, Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia is the chief patrol of the club, membership of which has been restricted to only elite people at a membership fee of Rs 5 lakh each. The club runs a restaurant, bar room, badminton, billiard, tennis courts and a swimming pool.