City Anchor: Rent agreement 'mistake' hit corporation hard: Monthly rent of 352 shops is only Rs 166, the system is stuck

The Rajkot Municipal Corporation has suffered a loss of crores of rupees today due to a serious mistake made in the contract of rented shops years ago. The corporation had set up shops in different areas of the city, which the administration had forgotten to mention in the agreement '10 per cent annual rent hike' while renting them out. As a result, the situation today is such that the average monthly rent of 352 shops in prime location is being charged only Rs 166. The corporation had built shops on expensive plots in major markets years ago and given nominal rents to traders. As a general rule, the rent has to be increased by 10 per cent every year, but at that time this condition was left to be written in the contract. Today, even after years, traders are using the expensive shops with the same old rent. At present, the annual income of these 352 shops is only Rs 7.07 lakh. Surprisingly, two ATMs and a bank account for half of this revenue, meaning that the rest of the shops get a meagre amount of Rs 4 lakh per year. Estate officer Mehul Gandhi said further action will be taken after taking legal opinion. The inaction of the estate department is responsible These shops are located in shopping centres located in Old Rajkot and the main circles. The estate department has never taken any strong legal action due to a technical flaw in the rent agreement. Apart from the shops, the corporation has also rented out properties including vegetable market stalls, quarters, schools and Fun World. If the administration assesses the new rent according to the current market price, the revenue of the corporation can increase by crores. Annual Income of Municipal Assets (in Rs.)