Guntur Municipal Corporation auctions shops for rents at vegetable market

The Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) is expecting to get about ₹3 crore in the form of rent deposits on commercial shops at Dr. Polli Sarada vegetable wholesale market, which is owned by the local body. The auction of the shops, which began on Monday, ended on Wednesday (August 20).

The current tenants used to pay ₹3,000-₹10,000 a month to the GMC, and this added up to around ₹3.5 lakh a month. There are 81 shops in the market, opposite APSRTC bus stand. According to the civic body, it also noticed that those who had taken the shops on rent from the GMC allegedly gave them to other individuals at a higher rent, instead of doing the business there.

After clearing the legal and political hurdles, the GMC auctioned the shops for the first time and under camera surveillance to ensure transparency and accountability.

On Day One of the auction, the rents were priced by the participants between ₹27,000 and ₹45,000 a month. On the second and the third day, however, the amount rose to ₹75,000 and even crossed ₹1 lakh, depending on the size and location of the shops, GMC Mayor Kovelamudi Ravindra and Commissioner Puli Srinivasulu told The Hindu in an interaction.

The Mayor said the GMC would get about ₹3 crore as non-refundable deposits from the tenants, who bagged the shops in the auction and that the amount was part of the rent. This apart, the Corporation would also get a monthly rent from the tenants.

The holding tenure is three years and the deposits would be adjusted at the end of the tenure. The GMC would also increase the rent by 10% every year. It also held a separate and subsided auction for shops reserved for SCs, STs and physically challenged people.