Over 600 shops in market complexes of Cuttack Municipal Corporation running sans contract renewal

The shops are allotted on lottery basis with a condition for renewal of agreement and rent enhancement every three years.
Image used for representational purposes only
Image used for representational purposes only
Updated on
2 min read

CUTTACK: In what has brought to fore gross irregularities and administrative laxity, at least 600 shops in different market complexes of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) have been running without renewal of contracts for the last around eight to nine years.

As per sources, the civic body has a total of 700 shops in 18 market complexes at Biju Patnaik Square, College Square, Malgodown over bridge, Jobra, Badambadi, Choudhury Bazar, OMP Square, Nuapada, etc. The shops are allotted on lottery basis with a condition for renewal of agreement and rent enhancement every three years.

However sources said, of the 700 shops, tenants of only 85 establishments have renewed their agreement. While agreement of 51 of the remaining 615 shops could only be renewed after they are allotted to the legal heirs of the original tenants, the others have conveniently been operating without a valid agreement for the last almost a decade. This, despite the fact that the corporation had in 2022 issued letter for renewal of the shops’ agreements with 10 per cent enhanced rent.

People in the know alleged the civic body is deliberately dilly-dallying over renewal of the shop agreements as it would not only expose the irregularities made in allotments but also bring to light several fake tenants.

Sources said there are no whereabouts of the real tenants of most shops. While majority of them are said to have illegally sold their outlets to other people, some of them are believed to have rented their shops to third parties and earning huge rent out of it, all under the nose of the civic body.

This apart, while norms allow possession of a single shop per person, some people have allegedly taken four to five shops on rent, sources said. Due to non-renewal of the agreements, these shops have been running without trade licence from the civic body making most of them hotspots for illegal activities like ganja trade, sale of illicit liquor etc, they added.

Contacted on the issue, CMC commissioner Anam Charan Patra said enforcement would be carried out to ensure renewal of contract agreement of all shops.

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