Land transferred to Solan civic body, vendor market set to be functional

Tribune News Service

Ambika Sharma

Solan, May 26

More than two years after it was constructed, the vendor market at Saproon will finally become functional with the state government transferring the land to the Solan Municipal Corporation (MC) last evening.

A letter confirming the land transfer was issued by the Principal Secretary-cum-Financial Commissioner (Revenue) to the Solan Deputy Commissioner yesterday.

Confirming the news, MC Commissioner Zaffar Iqbal said, “Land measuring 521 sq m at Saproon has been transferred to the civic body by the state government for the vendor market. Consent from the registered vendors will be sought to allot the shops through a draw of lots.”

Constructed at a cost of Rs 1.50 crore, with the Centre contributing Rs 1 crore, the market has 55 shops on its first floor. A parking created on the ground floor was, however, functional.

The allotment of the shops, which had begun in 2021, had been stalled as the land ownership did not lie with the MC.

The land belonged to the erstwhile Department of Mandis, which existed when Solan was a princely state. Though all such land in the state came under the ambit of the HP New Mandi Townships (Development and Regulations) Act, 1973, this one continued to be a property of the Department of Mandis.

Deputy Mayor Rajeev Kaura said, “The issue of land transfer was persistently pursued with the state government for the past two months. Shops in the vendor market will be allotted soon and this will help curb encroachment on the roads. More vendor zones can also be built to rehabilitate the street vendors in the city.”

As per the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, the MC is supposed to regulate the operations of the vendors. The creation of this market was a step in this direction and aimed at curbing traffic hassles created from the unregulated operations of the street vendors along the roads.

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