Amid protest, the municipal corporation (MC) on Wednesday sold all 60 sites at the Sector-7 car bazaar in an auction held at the community centre in Sector 22.
The auction was held for the first time since the car bazaar, which is held every Sunday, came into existence about 30 years ago.
With site number 5, in front of showroom 3, going for the lowest amount of Rs 4.1 lakh and site number 32, in front of showroom 16, fetching the highest price of Rs 7.5 lakh, the MC earned Rs 3.58 crore during the auction.
Earlier, a group led by car bazaar association president Gulshan Kumar held a protest against the auction but later attended it after another group decided to participate. After the auction of first site, the auction was obstructed for nearly 15 minutes as a few car dealers began to incite others by saying that the MC would be making huge profits at their expense.
Following the intervention of MC officials, the auction went on smoothly.
Speaking to HT, additional municipal commissioner Sarita Malik said, “Although, some traders were protesting initially, we managed to auction all 60 sites.”
Upon the issuance of the letter of intent, the successful bidders would have to deposit the amount within three days, said Malik. They will be allowed to function for a period of two years that can be extended up to three years.
{{/usCountry}}Upon the issuance of the letter of intent, the successful bidders would have to deposit the amount within three days, said Malik. They will be allowed to function for a period of two years that can be extended up to three years.
{{/usCountry}}Once again urging the authorities to shift the bazaar to a permanent location and providing the dealers with all necessary facilities, Gulshan Kumar said, “We wanted to boycott the auction, but some of our members went inside and we were forced to participate in the auction. I do not think, after paying such a huge amount to the MC, we will be able to make any profit.”
Earlier, only 43 car dealers were functioning from the market that comprises 60 sites. Some dealers had moved court over alleged misuse of space by some traders.
Thereafter, on August 11, 2014, the Punjab and Haryana high court had directed the civic body to frame a policy. Acting on these directions, the MC House during a meeting on February 19 this year approved the policy for sale and purchase of second-hand cars at the bazaar.