21 shops sealed for non-payment of rent

Jalandhar, April 1

Taking a stern action against 21 shopkeepers who had not paid rent to the Municipal Corporation for the past many years, officials of the tehbazari department sealed their premises late last evening at the closure of the financial year.

The shopkeepers had been asked to pay up all their dues by March 31 which they did not do. The MC officials then resorted to sealing these shops and showrooms, from which collectively more than Rs 1 crore was due as rental income.

The shops included six showrooms of mobile phones at Sanjay Gandhi market, and shops on Ladowali Road, Alaska Chowk, Masjid Ghumar and on the outer boundary of Hansraj Stadium.

Mandeep Singh, Superintendent, tehbazari department, said: “After we took action, three shopkeepers approached us today and made a payment of Rs 13.5 lakh after which we opened their seals. The remaining seals, too, would be opened after the due amount would be recovered.”

The Municipal Corporation owns 240 properties in Jalandhar, including 220 shops, showrooms and four petrol stations. Some of the shopkeepers have been running these shops for 25-30 years. The MC enhances the rent of these buildings by 20 per cent after every three years.