CHENNAI
The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Madurai Corporation to keep up its undertaking to complete the reconstruction of Periyar bus stand, under the Centre’s Smart Cities project, within a period of 18 months. It also said the existing traders in the bus stand should be allotted shops after the reconstruction, if they had settled the arrears of rent in full.
Disposing of a batch of writ petitions filed by the traders, a Division Bench of Justices K.K. Sasidharan and P.D. Audikesavalu ordered that the allotment of shops should be made on draw of lots and the rent could be fixed by the Corporation in accordance with the relevant guidelines. It was made clear that a transparent procedure must be followed in such allotment.
If more number of shops were available, after allotment to the existing shopkeepers, excess shops should be leased out through public auction after issuing a notification in one English and one Tamil newspaper having wide circulation in and around Madurai, the Bench ordered.
The orders were reserved at the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court and delivered at the principal seat in Chennai.
