Rs200-cr Chandigarh Municipal Coporation properties lie unused

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 12

Properties worth over Rs200 crore of the cash-starved Municipal Coporation have been lying unused for the past several years, revealed a report by the estate wing.

According to the report presented to the revenue generation committee, Rs9.26 crore arrears from various shops, booths, SCOs and commercial sites are pending and the MC has failed to recover it.

The amount has been roughly calculated on the base price of each property. The MC had tried to lease them out several times, but there were no buyers. A 24.76-acre land meant to be leased out for a hospital did not find any takers twice. Likewise, 105 booths in Mauli Jagran, 40 booths in the Sector 17 new overbridge market, 33 booths in AC Fish and Meat Market, eight booths in Sector 39 and various others have found no takers despite tenders being floated a number of times.

The corporation has written to the UT Administration to allow them to auction these properties on a freehold basis, but have not received an approval so far. Some of the properties are being let out on a monthly basis through open auction.

“I assume MC’s property worth Rs500 crore must have be lying unused. They are only misusing the funds of taxpayers. The MC should be closed and the Administration should take over the functioning of the. A huge chunk of the MC revenue is only being diverted into paying salaries,” said FOSWAC Chairman Baljinder Singh Bittu.

Leader of the Opposition Devinder Singh Babla said: “If the properties are offered on a freehold basis then people will be interested.”

Additional Commissioner Satish Jain, who heads the estate wing, said: “Some of the properties identified are also subjected to court cases. We are going to make a concrete plan and dispose them of.”