34.3% rise in market dept revenues
With the implementation of stringent measures by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC)’s market department, the department has witness an increase of 34.3 per cent in its revenues. While the civic market department collected `5.71 crore in 2011, earnings have already crossed `8 crore till September, 2012.
Debasish Kumar, member, mayor-in-council (MMiC), civic market department, attributed the rise in revenue to the department’s focus on recovery of stallage (read: rent) charges from traders who were on the regular defaulters’ list and unwilling to clear their dues.
Mr Kumar said, “We were determined to recover the dues from the traders operating in the 43 markets owned by the civic body and to recover the dues, we dealt with the defaulters on a case-to-case basis.”
He informed that the department undertook measures, including disconnection of power supply to their shops, sealing of shops and finally auctioning them off at the prevailing market rates to recover the dues. Apart from this, the department also stressed on the quick disbursal of pending mutation cases to increase revenue, he added.
An official of the market department said that traders now give in to the pressure exerted by the KMC. “Earlier, the traders were not bothered about their dues as the civic body was also not very eager to recover the revenue from them,” the official said.
The official also said that the civic body has recovered around `50 lakh as electricity charges from Manicktala Market traders that had been pending since 1985 but the civic board is still to recover `5 crore as rent from traders.
Post new comment