Traders at the newly constructed E.K.M. Abdul Gani Textile Market Complex in Erode city are showing reluctance to participate in the auctioning process, despite reduced rentals for the shops.
Commissioner V. Sivakrishnamurthy made this announcement during a council meeting chaired by Mayor S. Nagarathinam on Wednesday. According to Ward 43 councillor J. Saburama Minhaj of the Indian National Congress (INC), the auction held on January 24 allotted spaces in the new complex to shops that were not present in the old premises.
Minhaj also alleged that shops that were auctioned for higher rents were given to traders at lower rents.
Although one-third of the shops in the new complex were auctioned, Mr. Sivakrishnamurthy stated that traders were unwilling to occupy shops on the second and third floors. With the complex established at a cost of ₹62.60 crore, the aim is to recover the cost within three to five years.
However, the first year’s cost recovery target of ₹14.64 crore has fallen short, with less than ₹9 crore being realised.
During the meeting, DMK councillors posed questions about the new vegetable market premises on R.K.V. Road, as it holds less than 250 shops. They expressed concerns about how more than 700 shops currently functioning temporarily at the V.O.C. grounds can be accommodated in the new market.
The councillors suggested shifting the market to the Corporation’s land at Solar Punjai Lakkapuram.
In response to a question raised by the councillors regarding the stray dog menace in the city, Commissioner Sivakrishnamurthy mentioned that there are approximately 27,000 stray dogs. So far, the animal birth control program has been carried out on only 300 dogs.
