License of as many as 22 shops in Coimbatore were seized as they were opened despite the municipality’s sealing for non-payment of rent.
Coimbatore: Twenty-two municipal-owned shops lose license in Coimbatore as they were opened illegally post corporation’s closure on non-payment of rents in Coimbatore.
The licenses of 22 shops in Coimbatore that broke the government seal and opened the shops were cancelled. The shops were sealed on non-payment of rent dues. Municipal Commissioner announced a case against the violators.
The municipality owns more than 200 shops that have been rented out to private individuals on auction. The municipality suffered a revenue loss of about Rs 8.50-crore as the shopkeepers failed to pay the rent dues for the last four years. The 22 shops that failed to pay rents were sealed on the 27th of last month by Municipal Commissioner Vinod.
The shopkeepers broke off the seal and opened the shops without paid rent. Based on the complaint, the municipal authorities, along with police protection, once again sealed the shops, which agitated the shopkeepers and escalated into a heated argument.
The municipal authorities had already sealed the open shops without permission and sealed them again with police protection after they lodged a complaint with the police through the municipality about the incident. Police officers cleared the agitators from the spot.
The license of these 22 shops was cancelled for violating the municipal rules. Commissioner Vinod also said that a civil case would be filed for the offense of removing the government's seal while notices have been issued in the shops concerned.