Palike turns heat on rent defaulters, locks down shops

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Standing Committee on Markets sealed eight shops for unauthorised occupation and non-renewal of trade licences, on Saturday .

After an inspection, six shops in Residency Road were sealed for unauthorised occupation and non-renewal of trade licences and two shops were closed down at Adugodi for not paying rent. The committee also visited Johnson Market and warned traders to pay the rent within a week or face similar action.

Chairperson of the committee B R Nanjundappa said that the Palike maintains 122 markets out of which 20 were not functioning. “There are around 1,000 to 2,000 shops in KR Market. However, only 1,500 shops have been paying the revised rent. Few shops have not paid their dues for years. The rent was revised six months ago,” he added.

Out of the 102 shops in Johnson Market, 78 have neither paid rent nor have renewed their licences.“We can easily mop up a revenue of around Rs 100 crore every year if traders pay us on time,” Nanjundappa said.

The members maintained that Palike will take stringent action against traders for violations as there was a clear order from the High Court to evict such shops if rent is not paid.