Recover impact fee from builder, mayor tells SMC

Illegal constructions at textile markets not to be sealed

Surat mayor Snehalata Chauhan on Tuesday evening assured owners of around 500 illegally constructed shops in three textile markets in Surat that their shops will not be sealed from Wednesday.

Shop owners said the mayor has asked the administrative wing of the SMC to identify the builders of the textile markets and recover impact fee from them.

In a presentation before the mayor, the shop owners said the illegal constructions were carried out by the builder and they had just purchased shops in the buildings.

The shop owners decided not to pay the Rs 1.61 crore impact fee to the Surat Municipal Corporation for regularising the constructions.

207 shops in Kashi Textile Market, 200 shops in Asharam Textile Market and 88 shops in Gopi Textile Market, all of them situated in Begumwadi area, were issued the notices by the SMC on September 14.

The shop owners of Kashi Market were directed to pay Rs 65.33 lakh, Asharam Market Rs 38 lakh and those of Gopi Market were asked to pay Rs 58 lakh to regularise the illegal shops. SMC has warned that it would start sealing the shops if the amount was not deposited.

Rajesh Jain, who runs a shop in Asharam Market, and is one of the persons who has been served the notice, said: "The markets were built 12-13 year back. When we purchased the shops, we did not know that these were constructed illegally. The illegal shops were constructed by the builders and not traders, and hence the liability to pay the impact fee lies with the builders."

Traders has sought intervention by the Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association in the matter. The federation's organisational secretary Sardar Attar Singh, said: "SMC has threatened to start sealing the illegal shops from Wednesday if the amount is not deposited by today."

"It is the builders, who have made the illegal constructions, and hence they should pay the money. If SMC extends the time frame, we will talk to the concerned builders and ask them to pay the impact fee. Builders have paid impact fee in similar cases in the past and we are hopeful they will agree for the same this time as well," Singh said, adding: "Traders will certainly not pay any impact fee."

SMC officials, however, say they are concerned only with the impact fee amount. "We are not concerned about whether the traders are paying the impact fee or the builders. Our only interest is that the money is recovered so that the shops can be regularised. If the money is not paid, we will start sealing the illegal shops," an official of Town Planning Department, said on the condition of anonymity.