BMC proposes 50% rent increase for municipal galas

Last rent was fixed in 1996 and the sudden hike, especially for markets categorised in Grade C, has jumped by almost seven times, say mandai operators.

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed a 50 percent increase in rent for galas and stalls in municipal markets. The last rent fixed was in 1996, and the sudden hike, especially for markets categorised in Grade C, has jumped by almost seven times, say mandai operators, adding that it is arbitrary and unfair.

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Gala holders from Lalbaug Market, on behalf of other trade associations and stall holders, on Thursday met joint municipal commissioner Ramesh Pawar and assistant municipal commissioner Prakash Rasal along with Shiv Sena UBT’s former corporator Anil Kokil and MLA Ajay Choudhary.

Rajendra Bahadur Singh, president of the Lalbaug Market Merchants Association, said that their monthly rent, which used to be ₹120, had been hiked to ₹1,350 and would be further increased by five percent every year. “This increase is unfair,” he said. “Our businesses have been disrupted since the pandemic and online malls have eaten into them. We can understand a hike from ₹120 to ₹200, but to push it to ₹1,350 with an annual five percent hike and 18 percent GST is unaffordable. What will we earn and save? There is no maintenance of municipal markets either.”

Kokil said that gala vendors’ financial condition had deteriorated during the pandemic. “Then there is the culture of supermarkets and online stores which has reduced the footfall at stalls,” he said. “They simply cannot afford a sevenfold hike. The BMC should get revenue but this is unfair.”

Kokil said the new rent was with effect from September 1, 2022 and would be collected with arrears. “Vendors will refuse to sit inside markets, as those vendors sitting on footpaths are not paying rent and doing good business,” he said. “Here the vendors will have to pay more rent with fewer customers, which is not financially feasible.”

Prakash Rasal, assistant commissioner, markets, clarified that the BMC had not hiked the rent sevenfold. “We are charging on a square-foot basis,” he said. “Earlier, the rent was charged on a 1996 resolution of the corporation. There have been no changes made since 1996. This proposal, which was pending for three years, has finally got approval. In order to have uniformity, we have started charging on a square-foot basis.”

Rasal said the system was being updated online, and there could be a few errors in the rent depicted. “The rent will depend on the grade of the market and commodity,” he explained. “For instance, Crawford Market is an A category market where business flourishes so the rent will be more. Those vendors who were not being charged on a square foot basis earlier will now see a difference in rent.”