The Madras High Court on Monday doubted whether any poor would have been allotted shops in Koyambedu wholesale market here and called for all details regarding allocation of shops on the complex.
Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and R. Hemalatha directed advocate M. Velmurugan, representing the Market Management Committee, to submit all relevant details by January.
The judges wanted to know the mode of allotment, whether the shops had been leased or rented out, how many had defaulted payment of rent and how many had violated the allotment conditions. The directions were given while hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by a lawyer seeking monetary assistance to 1,256 shop owners who had lost their livelihood due to closure of the market since May.
The petitioner P. Usha, 52, of Nolambur, pointed out that the government had ordered the closure of the market complex after the break out of a COVID-19 cluster and then allotted temporary shops to the traders at Tirumazhisai.
Alternative allotment
According to the petitioner, the alternative allotment of shops was given only to 196 traders who fell under the A1, A2 and A3 categories under which bigger shops had been allotted at Koyambedu.
The small shop owners under A4 and A5 categories were left in a lurch. Even in September when the government decided to reopen the market complex, only A1 to A3 categories had been given priority and the rest had not been permitted to commence business, the petitioner said and insisted upon providing subsidy, grant or monetary compensation to the latter.
The petitioner also insisted on exemption from payment of property tax to the corporation and maintenance fee to the market committee for the period when the traders were not allowed to do business from the market complex.
