Rent of 23 shops at Bose Market in Tirunelveli Town slashed

The Corporation has decided to slash 5% of the rent for 23 shops at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Market in Tirunelveli Town as these aggrieved tenants had approached the court against the urban civic body’s decision to hike the rent after this market was reconstructed.

As the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Market in Tirunelveli Town was rebuilt under the ‘Smart City Mission’, the Corporation, which owns the market, upwardly revised the rent of the shops in the market and sent the revised rental structure to the shopkeepers on last April 15, May 2 and May 12 asking the allottees to pay the revised rent to the urban civic body.

However, the shopkeepers, expressing dissent over the “steep hike in rent”, filed a case against this decision in the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court. The petitioners said the Corporation, even after reconstructing the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Market, was allowing “unauthorised traders” to run their business establishments along the road. Since these “unauthorised roadside shops” had badly affected the business of the shops in the Netaji Bose Market, the rent should not be hiked, they argued.

Delivering judgment in this case, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court directed the Tirunelveli Corporation to give revised rental notification to the 23 aggrieved traders. Subsequently, the Corporation council meeting held on Friday decided to slash 5% of the monthly rent fixed earlier.

The council also decided to install the bronze statue of late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi at the western end of Sarojini Park near Palayamkottai bus stand and name the South Mount Road connecting Arunagiri Theatre and Katchi Mandapam as ‘Dr. P. Padmanabhan Ex MLA Road’. The council also resolved to name the Tirunelveli Corporation Trade Centre as ‘Veeramangai Velunatchiayar Trade Centre’.

The resolutions will be submitted to the Tamil Nadu Government for its approval after which these proposals will be translated into action.

Differently-abled nominated councillor Jegajeevan Ram, who attended his first council meeting on Friday, was received by Mayor G. Ramakrishnan with a shawl.