Shimla Municipal Corporation to auction 71 shops at Ajivika Bhawan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 28

The Shimla Municipal Corporation will auction the shops that will be left at the Ajivika Bhawan after the allotment to the identified beneficiaries.

“We have 217 shops at the Ajivika Bhawan, which are nearing completion. Of these, 146 will be allotted to street vendors who deposited Rs 35,000 each in 2018. The remaining shops will be auctioned,” said MC Commissioner Ashish Kohli.

Will rehabilitate street vendors

• Ajivika Bhawan is a multi-storey shopping complex that has been built to rehabilitate vendors.
• Apart from the 76 Tibetan vendors who are running their business from the open Tibetan market, around 70 Indian street vendors will also be given shops at the complex
• The MC also plans to rent out the terrace at the rate of Rs35K per day for exhibitions

A total of 12 shops have been reserved for bakers who had units in the old Bakery Building, which was dismantled to build the bhawan.

Ajivika Bhawan is a multi-storey shopping complex that has been built to rehabilitate vendors. Equipped with modern amenities lift and parking, the MC claims it is one of the best facilities built for street vendors across the country.

“The complex is nearing completion, so we have decided to initiate the allotment process,” said Kohli.

146 of 217 shops to be allotted

We have 217 shops at the Ajivika Bhawan, which are nearing completion. Of these, 146 will be allotted to street vendors who deposited Rs35,000 each in 2018. The remaining shops will be auctioned. —Ashish Kohli, Commissioner, Shimla MC

Apart from the 76 Tibetan vendors who are running their business from the open Tibetan market, around 70 Indian street vendors will also be given shops at the complex.

The MC also plans to rent out the terrace of the building at the rate of Rs 35,000 per day for exhibitions and other such events.

The tentative rent for identified beneficiaries will be around Rs 5,000 per month, while the base price for the auction of shops will be kept around Rs 10,000.

Nearly Rs 7 crore has been spent on the construction of the building. A part of the funds came from the Centre, some from MC head and some from Smart City Mission.

Besides, some councilors also brought up the issue of levying some charge on the telecom companies for using the MC assets to lay their cable wires.

“If these companies are using the MC assets, the MC should ask for some fee in return,” said Diwakar Sharma, a councilor from Majaith.

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