Exorbitant rent for shops in the new commercial complex, which was built and maintained by Vellore Corporation, opposite to the Collectorate Office, has stopped traders from occupying the new shops.
Built under the Smart City project at ₹5.10 crore, the complex has 20 shops each on its two floors with adequate parking facilities. It has LED lighting facilities, uninterrupted water supply with an Over Head Tank (OHT) nearby, CCTV cameras, washrooms, a purified water system, and a compound wall. In order to ensure continuous power supply, the Corporation also installed a 110 KV electricity transformer with two diesel generators as a power backup facility. “The new complex has been lying idle since it was built in mid-2021 due to the high rent fixed by the civic body. If we pay such a high rent, we will incur losses in the business,” said K. Vimal, a trader.
Corporation officials said that as per norms based on the market value of the area, rent for each shop has been fixed between ₹20,000 and ₹30,000 per month, depending on the total space of the shop and easy accessibility. The rental rates are fixed by the special committee with the Department of Municipal Administration in the State government. Any revision of the rents can also be done only by the State government. The civic body has no role to play in it. “We have requested the State government to revise the rental rates of the commercial complex. Once we get the revised rates, we will act accordingly,” said P. Rathinasamy, Commissioner and Special Officer, Vellore Corporation.
At present, the Vellore Corporation has more than 2,500 shops within its four zones, such as Sathuvachari, Katpadi, the Vellore Fort area, and Shenbakkam, covering all 60 wards with a total population of around 10 lakh people. Currently, most of the petty traders and small businessmen in Sathuvachari and Rangapuram have their shops in Sarathy Mansion in the town, resulting in traffic congestion and fierce competition between them and the locals there.
