The Statesman 08.05.2013
KMC offers 12% extra space incentive in College St Market to unwilling stall owners
KOLKATA, 8 MAY: As many as 58 stall
owners of College Street Market, who were reluctant to shift to the
first and second floors of the market, were today offered 12 per cent
extra space free of cost by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).
Member,
mayor-in-council (market) Tarak Singh today arrived at this decision
after a meeting with the representatives of the Bengal Shelter Housing
Development Ltd and stall owners. Municipal Commissioner Mr Khalil
Ahmed, joint municipal commissioner, director general of market and
senior superintending engineers were also present at the meeting.
The
stall owners could not be accommodated on the ground floor as the total
carpet area went down after the market was constructed.
Out of a
total of 968 stall owners on ground floor, 110 were rehabilitated in
block A of the complex. The remaining 800 could be rehabilitated on the
ground floor.
Mr Singh had asked the representative of the Bengal
Shelter to hold a meeting with the stall owners to resolve the
long-standing problem, which would lead to a solution if the unwilling
stall owners, accepting the proposal, agree to shift to the first and
second floors of the market.
Shop owners who had refused to move
to the first floor are fruit, fish and vegetable sellers. They had
refused to move anticipating loss. The total carpet area of the market
was around 15,000 square meter before construction of the building.
The
trouble rehabilitating all shop owners on the ground floor began after
the carpet area went down to 9,000 square meter after the construction
of the building.
The construction of the market began in 2007 and
was supposed to have been completed within 18 months. Earlier,
shopkeepers had rejected the rehabilitation package pointing out several
discrepancies between the draft relocation plans and the actual ones.
It
may be recalled that the State Bank of India had taken legal possession
of the market after Bengal Shelter failed to repay the loan and failed
to complete the project on time.
The shopkeepers said if steps
to distribute the stalls do not take place now they will suffer during
monsoon as the Marquis Square gets flooded during the rainy season.
Markets
are yet to be completed though construction of both began over a decade
ago. The stall owners of these two markets alleged that their suffering
has intensified because of the lackadaisical attitude of the civic
authorities.
