CUTTACK: Land allotment to business establishments for setting up stalls at Baliyatra trade fair this year seems headed towards rough weather with the administration allegedly adopting a whimsical approach to fixation of ground rent.
The cost of setting up a stall for eight days in the fair will exceed the price of a piece of land or a flat in the Millennium City, if the administration has its way. The prospective tenants including traders, commercial establishments, entrepreneurs and corporates already appear to have been put off by the exorbitant demand and are giving indications of not taking part in the historic trade fair.
As per reports, the district administration is forcing traders and applicants to become sponsors and cough up over Rs 3 lakh extra amount if they avail land measuring more than 2,000 sq ft. The ground rent has been fixed at Rs 30 per sq ft for land measuring upto 1,000 sq ft and Rs 31.5 for additional land upto 2,000 sq ft. Beyond 2,000 sq ft, the applicants will have to pay five per cent more for each additional 1,000 sq ft besides Rs 1,000 towards registration fee.
But, the problem arises beyond 2,000 sq ft as the administration has made it mandatory for applicants to become sponsors and pay substantially higher additional sums starting from Rs 3 lakh and upwards. If a trader or agency applies for 3,000 sq ft land, he would have to pay the normal ground rent and pay an additional Rs 3 lakh as sponsorship fee.
Accordingly, if one opts for 6000 sq ft of land at Baliyatra ground, he will have to pay Rs 13,52,500 as ground rent and sponsorship. Similarly, a firm which had taken highest 12,000 sq ft land last year will have to pay an astronomical Rs 37,37,500 this year for the same land against around Rs 4 lakh last year.
This has raised the hackles among the applicants, who have termed the move as sheer coercion. According to sources, there are more than 30 companies, corporate houses, entrepreneurs and marketing agencies, who have been participating in the trade fair by availing land measuring 3,000 sq ft to 12,000 sq ft. They are no more interested to set up their stalls in Baliyatra due to imposition of exorbitant sponsorship fee.
Though the administration has imposed a high tariff, it is yet to come up with specific plan and benefits for them under the sponsorship programme, they alleged.
“We cannot afford such huge amount. If the district administration fails to change its decision, we will be forced to withdraw from participating in Baliyatra,” said Surya Ratha, proprietor of Herald Advertisement, one of the leading marketing agencies in the State.
“There is no clarity on sponsorship programme, even the officials dealing with it are not clear about it. The money-minded administration would compel participating business establishments and entrepreneurs to hike their products’ prices,” said an entrepreneur.
Collector Bhabani Shankar Chayani said sponsorship programme is a part of the administration’s effort to bring transparency in Baliyatra plot booking thereby eliminating the third party transfer system.
Agencies get land allotted land in bulk and then rent them out in parts to companies and corporate houses, who cannot come and apply for land individually. The third party rents out the land at much higher prices.
The intent to get more revenue is appreciable but the method has been questioned. If the administration wants to get the most out of the land and eliminate third parties, it could have raised the slabs like it has done for the first 1,000 and subsequent 1,000 sq ft. “Instead, forcing them to become sponsors and paying astronomical sums is nothing but coercion,” said an applicant.
Besides, it would not end the third-party system as the agencies will charge proportionately more from their customers, he added.
