Court allows textile shops to function on Gani market premises till December end

Erode traders rejoice as HC allows them to run shops till Dec 2023. Court grants permission to erect temporary shops, traders to benefit from Deepavali sales.

Following the Madras High Court that allowed textile shops on the E.K.M. Abdul Gani Textile Market (Gani Market) premises to function till the end of December 2023, traders started to erect temporary shops from Friday. 

Over 1,000 textile shops, both weekly and daily, were functioning on the market premises for 45 years and the civic body had in 2019 began constructing the modernised textile hub with 262 shops on the premises. Traders, who wanted priority to be given to them in allocation of shops in the new building, opposed auctioning of shops. But the Corporation said the shops would be allotted only through general auctioning.  

The traders filed a case in the Madras High Court and the court, in its order, asked 106 traders to vacate the shops, while the civic body asked another 134 traders to vacate the shops. A total of 240 shops were vacated by the Corporation in August. 

Erode Gani Market Dinasari Anaithu Siru Javuli Viyabarigal Sangam (Erode Gani Market Daily All Small Textile Traders Association) has moved the court seeking time till Deepavali to run their business on the market premises they had vacated based on the recent court’s order. The association filed a writ application seeking direction to the Secretary to Government to allow them to run their shops till Deepavali as they would lose their livelihood. The association filed an affidavit that they would vacate the shops and hand over the premises by December 31, 2023. The court in its order dated September 7, 2023, accepted the affidavit. 

Traders met the Minister for Housing and Urban Development S. Muthusamy and urged him to expedite the process of giving permission to erect shops. The Minister held discussions with the Corporation officials and traders were permitted to erect shops. Traders said shops would function from September 26.