Why can't civic body take over Koyambedu market?

Chennai: When a concerned customer asks any trader about pitiful condition of Koyambedu wholesale market, the traders' unequivocal response would be that the Greater Chennai Corporation has been collecting property tax from them. “How come they won't provide basic amenities to the market?”they ask. 

“Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is mere a builder and it sold shops to us after the completion of the construction works. It has no business in managing the market,” said market advisor V.R. Soundararajan. He also added that the traders had paid Rs 7.90 crore as property tax during the previous year following the court order.

“If the corporation collects the property tax, it will be the obligation of the civic body to maintain streetlights, roads and should remove garbage. But the corporation has been shunning its responsibility,” Soundararajan said.

He also claimed that the market traders have paid '80 lakh towards property tax in the current year. Although Soundararajan demanded civic amenities from the Chennai Corporation, he wanted full autonomy to the Market Management Committee (MMC) in managing the market.

Meanwhile, CMDA has been imploring the civic body to take over the Koyambedu wholesale market and Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) for more than a decade. “CMDA is only a development body and we hand over the establishments to concerned local bodies once the construction completed. But the corporation refuses to take responsibility,” a CMDA official said.

According to Chennai Corporation sources, both the establishments are generating lesser revenue than the expenditure to maintain them. “Due to this anomaly, the corporation remains reluctant to take over the establishments,” a source said.

Sources also said that during the last week of February a meeting was held between municipal administration department and housing department in which CMDA member-secretary and Chennai Corporation Commissioner took part. “In the meeting, CMDA asked the local body to take over the establishments to which the latter reportedly refused to. The decision will be taken after another round of delegation, probably,” the source said. CMDA has been pointing out staff crunch. “Chennai Corporation has more employees which would make maintenance easier. But the corporation has been seeing the issue in revenue point of view only,” the source said.

180 tonnes of garbage generated daily

Apart from waiting for Chennai Corporation's beckoning to take over Koyambedu market, the CMDA is also been waiting for handing over of CMBT to the civic body.

“CMDA is not earning profit from managing CMBT and market. Maintenance works are being carried out with the revenue generated through parking charges and others. Even the garbage is being removed by CMDA,” a market source said.

According to the sources, the market has been generating 150-180 tonne of garbage daily. “The market houses 3,187 shops. CMDA has been removing the garbage generated by the shops and has been transferring them to dumping yards. The corporation should take over the maintenance of CMBT also,” the CMDA source said.