BENGALURU: Cash-strapped Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is gearing up to increase rents in all its markets.
The civic body’s 142 markets house more than 6,000 shops, many of which are unoccupied. G N Diwakar, vice-president of BBMP Market Vendors’ Association, said the Palike’s decision to hike rent was unfair.
“We are paying `9 per sqft a month and they have proposed to increase this to `29-`31. Even though we are paying so much, BBMP has failed to provide basic amenities,” he told Express.
“We will give a memorandum to BBMP requesting it to reconsider the decision. If this fails, the association will go to court,” he said.
Meanwhile, B R Nanjundappa, chairman of BBMP’s Market Committee, said the Palike has not revised market rents for the past 30 years.
“We spend `70 lakh for solid waste management in KR Market alone, but we are hardly getting `1 crore rent a year. If we increase the rent, we will get an additional `110 crore (from all markets), which we need to maintain those markets,” he said.
He condemned the vendors’ protest and said those who don’t agree to the new rents would either be evicted or face legal action.
No Change in Russell Market Policy
The BBMP, which had stated that Russell market is an unsafe building following a fire in 2012, stopped collecting rent as it felt it would face legal issues for charging rent from an unsafe building.
However, the market’s traders’ association general secretary Mohammed Idrees Chaudry said the association has collected `35 lakh as rent from tenants and is ready to pay the BBMP whenever officials come to them.