Contract awarded for collection of entry fee in market

By V. Prem Shanker

CHENNAI, DEC. 12. The CMDA's eight-month-long problem in collection of entry fee for vehicles in Koyambedu wholesale market has come to an end, with a private party, who won the new contract, taking over the collection from early morning on Monday. However, several other problems remain to be sorted out by the agency.

After March 2000, when the previous contract period for collection of entry fee ended, the CMDA floated several tenders to award a fresh contract. When it failed to attract many bidders and award of the contract, the agency decided to relax tendering procedures and mode of payment of the contract fee. The entry fee for vehicles had also been increased to attract more bidders.

Thus the CMDA received tenders and determined the highest bidder for over Rs. 1.5 crore, who made the payment of the initial deposit and took over the collection of the entry fee.

The CMDA had engaged its staff to collect entrance fee since March. Following the awarding of contract, the staff could now be utilised in the drive to revamp operations in the perishables market, officials said.

A team of CMDA officials have been conducting regular raids to evict encroachments and unauthorised vendors in the market.

Officials said that the raids had enabled reduction of unauthorised vendors and a plan to man the market throughout the day is being worked out.

The raids, however, have provoked severe criticism from the vendors who contend that the officials conduct raids during the mornings only and later in the day there are re-encroachments.

``The raids only drive away the buyers and thereby ruin business,'' a representative of a fruit merchants' association said.

Members of the association say that the advisory committee for market development, headed by CMDA officials, does not have `proper' representation of traders and several decisions being taken by the committee are not being accepted.

The traders add that the contract fee for the coconut and plantain traders' slots which have been identified recently in fruit market finalised by the CMDA is exorbitant.

The fee for the slot had been fixed at Rs. 3,000 per sq.ft. for new bidders and Rs. 2,750 per sq. ft. for vendors who already have a stall. This fee is not viable in view of poor business in the area where the slot has been created, the merchants said.

A merchant who wanted to sell a stall near the coconut and plantain slot, found no buyers even at the rate of about Rs. 2,000 per sq.ft., they said.

Officials, said that the price for the slot had been decided at a meeting with merchants' representatives and their contention could not be taken seriously.

Moreover, some persons have paid the initial deposit for stalls in the slot. The deadline for payment of the deposit for the stalls was November 30. Officials added that though there was no plan to extended the deadline deposits were being received before retendering for the slot.

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