Drive against rent defaulters fetches Palike Rs 61 lakh

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) crackdown on shopkeepers who defaulted on annual rent payment fetched it Rs 61.33 lakh on Monday.

When BBMP officials closed down 20 shops at the Utility Building for defaulting on rent payment, the shopkeepers panicked and immediately paid the dues worth Rs 61.33 lakh by cheques.

The Palike sealed the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) at Kalasipalya which owes it a whopping Rs 1.72 crore. The APMC hasn’t paid the annual rent for ages, sources in the Palike said.

The operation, led by BBMP Administrator T M Vijay Bhaskar, began at KR Market where nearly 2,000 street vendors occupied footpaths and the entrance of the market, leaving little space for pedestrians.

After evicting the vendors, officials of the Palike’s Market Division removed all the temporary constructions on the passageway of the market and warned them of stringent action if the construction came up again. But in a daring defiance, the shopkeepers occupied their place moments after they were evicted.

Over the next one month, the Palike will intensify the drive in all its markets and properties on lease.