ERODE: After a long drag, out of 292 newly constructed shops in Gani Market, a textile hub of Erode, 113 shops were auctioned to existing traders on Tuesday on a priority basis.
According to the sources, About 240 daily shops, and 720 weekly shops were functioning at the EKM Abdul Gani Textile Market (Gani market) for many years and the Erode Corporation decided to modernize the textile market under the Smart Cities Mission project at Rs 51.59 crore. The existing shops on the premises were allowed to function temporarily while construction of the complex began in June 2019 and was completed in 2022. The new complex has 292 shops with parking, restaurants and other facilities.
The complex was inaugurated in August 2023. Shops were also auctioned. However, the traders did not participate in the auction as the deposit and rent were high. Further, the traders requested the Corporation to reduce the rent and allot shops to the existing permanent traders on a priority basis. But no decision was reached on this request for long days and the Corporation faced revenue loss.
In this context, recently the issue was taken up with the State government and approval was obtained for giving priority to the existing traders in allocation. Following this, applications were received from existing traders on December 8, 9, 11 and 13. In this, 113 applications were found with required documents, and 147 applications were rejected for various reasons, including insufficient documents.
Subsequently, the auction for allotment of shops to those 113 traders was held on Tuesday. Speaking to TNIE, Corporation Commissioner V Sivakrishnamurthy said, "Out of the total 292 shops, 113 shops were auctioned on Tuesday on a priority basis. A resolution to allot shops to the traders was passed during the recent council meeting. The deposit and rent for shops are fixed at no loss to the Corporation. The civic body is likely to get a revenue of Rs 2.5 crore through Tuesday's auction. A general auction for the remaining shops will be held on December 29."
"The civic body is likely to get a monthly revenue of Rs 50 lakh through this complex. We expect Rs 6 crore per annum," he added. "Traders had paid for 87 of the 113 auctioned shops till Tuesday evening." officials said