Jamshedpur: Traders in the city are opposing the hike in the monthly rental of shops in govt-owned Sairat bazaars. They claimed that the Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) has increased the rent without taking stakeholders into confidence.“The increase of Rs 5 to Rs 7 per square feet is not a fair hike; it would cause financial woes to small traders,” said Harvinder Singh Mantu, president, Jamshedpur All Market Association (JAMA).The association members said that the municipal body affected the hike from Feb 1, and from March 6, municipal tax officials started collecting the rent without leaving room for discussion.“Our contention is that rental should have been fixed after discussion so that stakeholders got an opportunity to provide their opinions,” said Manav Kedia, president, Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI).The traders staged road protests and demonstrated outside the JNAC office on Thursday before submitting a representation to the civic body officials.“We have demanded not to increase the rent for the time being and also requested them to come to the table for discussions,” said trader Javed Akhtar.There are 7,700-plus shops in the 10 sairat bazaars which are controlled by JNAC. Traders operating from the sairat bazaar shops have been paying monthly rent in the range of Rs 30 to Rs 100. With the revised rental, the traders have to pay in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 depending on the shop size.“We will meet the deputy commissioner, submit a representation and will seek intervention to stop rent collection for the time being,” said readymade cloth merchants body president Anil Modi.JNAC deputy town commissioner Krishna Kumar told the delegation that the revised rent structure was formulated by the Dhalbhum sub-division office, while the civic body is an intermediary in issuing bills and collecting rent. “I will discuss the issue with the SDO to work out a plan,” Kumar said.
