GHAZIABAD: The civic body’s proposal to increase the rent of over 1,700 shops has met with strong opposition from traders, many of whom marched from the Ramte Ram area to the corporation’s office in Navyug Market on Saturday. The protest comes barely two days after a demonstration by sanitation staffers who are demanding the regularisation of jobs and expansion of their workforce.
The civic body collects revenue of Rs 77 lakh per annum in rent from its 1,702 shops as the rates have remained unchanged in 23 years. The GMC wants to bring the rate at par with the current market or circle rate, which, as per an estimate, will earn the civic body Rs 22 crore in revenue per annum.
Traders said that the existing rent of these shops ranges between Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 per month and is likely to touch Rs 10,000 per month if the rates are revised.
Rakesh Swamy, who has rented a GMC shop on Ramte Ram Road, said, “The shops were rented 23 years ago when the area was not developed as per the circle rate prevailing at that time. We have given out blood and sweat in the last two decades. Now that the area is developed, the market rate of the land and properties has shot up too. We are equal partners, but GMC is unilaterally taking a call to hike shop rent, which we think is arbitrary and unjust.”
According to GMC officials, an order issued by govt says the rent of shops should be hiked periodically in coherence with the market rate or circle rate. “The issue has been dragging on for the last two years. The GMC board, in its previous term under the then mayor Asha Sharma, had cleared a proposal to increase the shop rent rate by 10%, which was opposed by traders. In Sept last year, the new House formed a committee under mayor Sunita Dayal to take a call on the issue,” the official said.
