Lease arrears rattle auto parts traders

Tribune News Service 

Chandigarh, July  21

Owners of automobile spare parts and  accessories shops allotted by the Chandigarh Administration in various sectors have  received notices  from the  Estate Office asking them to pay arrears of lease money amounting to lakhs.

The notices have created panic among traders as they   have been asked  to pay the  amount  in 30 days  or face  action. They have termed these unjustified. Sources said the Estate Office had sent notices to over 500  shop owners in the Sector 48 motor market alone for paying the arrears of the  lease money. In the notices, the Estate Office had stated that the lease money was inadvertently miscalculated at the time of the allotment of the  shops   in 2001 on the  land rates alone. However, as  per the  rules, the ground rent is to be calculated  on the  land rate plus the cost  of construction.  

Robin,  one of the shop owners at the motor market, said when he  was allotted the  booth, the  lease money was fixed at Rs 24,000. He said as per the notice, calculated  on the  new formula, the lease money  had been  enhanced   from  Rs 24000 to  Rs 35,502 yearly.

  He said the wrong  calculation was not  their  fault. He  had been  paying the lease money   regularly.    

The enhanced amount of over Rs 10,000 monthly  should not be  charged retrospectively.  In the  calculation made  in the  case of his booth, the Estate  Office  calculated the ground rent at Rs 5,74,679, the GST Rs 2,29,542 and interest  Rs 9,80,967. The difference of the  ground  rent is Rs 2,07,090. The allottee has been  asked to  pay  Rs 19,92,278   in all.

Jagdeep Mahajan, a trader, said they would oppose the  notices as  these were unjustified. He said while  some  traders  were planning to move court,  others were planning to  hold a protest.

Pradeep Chhabra,  president of the city Congress,  said traders  had  already  brought  the  issue to his  notice. He said the  issue would be taken up with the Administration. The Administration had  shifted mechanics  and automobile  dealers  to Sector 48, 38, 52, 28  and 43 from  interior  areas  of the city  20 years  ago by allotting them booths  and shops on  a leasehold  basis.

In some cases, the amount  of arrears is more than  the  allotment prices of the booths.

Lease money was miscalculated

• The Estate Office has sent notices to over 500 shop owners in the Sector 48 motor market alone for paying the arrears of the lease money.
• In the notices, the Estate Office has stated that the lease money was inadvertently miscalculated at the time of the allotment of the shops in 2001 on the land rates alone.
• As per the rules, the ground rent is to be calculated on the land rate plus the cost of construction.