Now, Chandigarh MC to offer booths at fish market through open auction

Sandeep Rana

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 19

The local Municipal Corporation (MC) will try its luck at offering booths at AC Fish and Meat Market in Sector 41 through an open auction this time.

Earlier, it had invited expression of interest from bidders for an open auction in March, but due to Covid-19, the process had to be cancelled. The open auction will be held on the premises of the fish market on August 26 and interested persons will have to deposit the earnest money of Rs50,000 through a demand draft with the MC Commissioner.

“Those into the fish or meat trade are not much conversant with the online system. So, we have decided to do it through an open auction. We hope to get a good response,” said an official.

There are 32 booths and a chill room available on a monthly rent at the market.

According to the MC, for booth number 1 to 24, which have an area of 21.21 sq metre each, there will be a minimum of Rs12,000 reserved monthly licence fee per booth.

For booth number 25 to 30, with 19.02 sq metre area, the minimum monthly fee will be Rs10,000, whereas there will Rs15,000 fee per month for booth number 32 and 33 having 39.51 sq metre area.

The chill room, with 35.31 sq metre area, will have a minimum fee of Rs10,000.

In February, the corporation had to withdraw the tenders as only nine persons showed interest in buying the units. Before that, the MC made several attempts, but failed to find any takers.

The booths were constructed by the UT Administration at a cost of Rs5 crore in 2006. These were later handed over to the MC in 2009. The MC offered to sell these for Rs60 lakh each, but failed to do so. Then it offered to rent these out for Rs30,000-Rs35,000 per month. Now, it has lowered the monthly price to Rs10,000-Rs15,000 through an open auction.