The City Municipal Council (CMC) is facing acute fund crunch due to non-recovery of rents from commercial shops.
The arrears from shop owners to the CMC stands at a whopping Rs. 50 lakh. A large number of shop owners have failed to pay the rents, the main source of income to the CMC.
The failure of CMC authorities in taking stern measures to collect the rent as per law has aggravated the crisis.
There are about 250 commercial shops of CMC on M.G. Road, Post Office Road, Old Bus Stand, Antaragange Road and other places.
Although the rules stipulates that shops should be given on rent afresh on calling tenders after completion of the rent period, the authorities, buckling under the pressure from political quarters, show no interest in it. The politicians also put pressure on officials to give the shops on rent to their supporters.
The interference of the politicians has resulted in shop keepers not paying rent for many years and causing the local body heavy loss.
Sub lease
The menace of sub lease was widely being practised by the tenants who got the licence from the CMC.
Those who got permission to run the shops sub leased them for higher rent.
Mahalakshmi, who was elected as the new president of the CMC recently has said notices will be issued to the defaulters and stern measures will be taken to evict them notwithstanding political pressures.
“The shops will be leased to others after withdrawing licence to earlier tenants who have failed to pay the rent”, Ms. Mahalakshmi
said.
