A first, open auction to lease out shops at Sector 39 grain market

The UT Administration has planned to hold an open auction of 92 shops at the new grain, fruit and vegetable market in Sector 39 here.

In a significant change, the auction will be open to the general public for the first time. Earlier, licence holders from the Sector 26 market were to be given preference. The shops will be given on lease of 99 years, instead of being offered on a freehold basis. The reserve price of each 120 sq yd shop has been fixed at Rs 5 crore.

The 92 SCO sites will be put up for auction in the next few months as per terms and conditions of the Chandigarh Estate Rules, 2007.

The issue of shifting of the present grain, fruit and vegetable market from Sector 26 to Sector 39 has been pending for long. A piece of land measuring 75 acres was acquired in 1990 and the site was allotted for the second market in Sector 39 in 2002.

• 99 years Tenure of lease
• 92 SCOs to go under hammer
• 120 sq yd Size of each shop
• Rs 5 cr Reserve price of each unit

“We are hopeful of auctioning the shops soon,” said a senior UT official. Regarding the Kajauli waterworks pipelines that run beneath the Sector 39 site, the official said, “Since relocating the pipelines is a complex task, we have decided to develop a green cover over the affected area.” These pipelines, installed in 1980, are crucial to the city’s entire water supply network.

Expressing concerns over the open auction of shops, Brij Mohan, president of the Sector 26 Sabzi Mandi Arhtiya Association, stated that the terms and conditions set by the UT Administration for auctioning the shops on a leasehold basis were unacceptable to them. “The reserve price is excessively high, especially considering that the UT Administration had acquired approximately 75 acres in Sector 39 for just Rs 2 crore in 1990,” he said.

Mohan urged the UT Administration to follow the Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board (Sale and Transfer of Plots) Rules, 1961, for the allocation of sites. If the Administration went ahead with its terms and conditions, they would move court, he said, and hold protests in front of the houses of the officers concerned.

Once the shops at the Sector 39 market are allocated, the de-notification of the Sector 26 market will be carried out in phases.

Terms unacceptable: Arhtiyas

The terms and conditions set by the UT Administration for auctioning the shops on a leasehold basis are unacceptable to us. The reserve price is excessively high. If the Administration went ahead with these terms and conditions, we will move court, and hold protests in front of the houses of the officers concerned. — Brij Mohan, president, Sec 26 Sabzi Mandi Arhtiya Assn