Not many takers for shops at newly constructed Mettur bus stand in Salem

High rents at newly-constructed Mettur bus stand in Salem district lead to 59 unoccupied shops, prompting calls for reduction.

As many as 59 shops at the newly-constructed Mettur bus stand in Salem district remain unoccupied for the last two months, reportedly because of high rents fixed for the shops.

The Tamil Nadu gGovernment in April 2022 announced that the bus stand, which was constructed in 1992 on 0.631 hectares, will be reconstructed at ₹6.4 crore with adequate facilities. The construction works began in August 2023 and got over in January this year. The new facility has 69 shops, parking space, and toilet facilities. However, most of the newly-constructed shops remained closed.

A trader who ran a shop earlier in the bus stand said that there were around 50 shops in the old bus stand. The 69 shops constructed now were 130 sq. ft. to 170 sq. ft. each. Earlier, the shop rent was ₹4,000 to ₹5,000, but for the new shops the rent was fixed between ₹11,000 and ₹13,000, excluding GST. The deposit amount for a shop was around ₹2 lakh. Further, the shop owner would have to pay a fine if the rent was not paid before the fifth of every month.The rent would be hiked by 5 % every year.

The number of passengers arriving at Mettur bus stand was less compared with city bus stands. The Mettur Municipality auctioned the shop three times in two months but only 10 shops were occupied. So the civic body should reduce the rent and the deposit amount fixed for the shops, the trader added.

Mettur Municipality Chairperson G. Chandra said that in the recent council meeting, councillors demanded reduction of rent and an urgent resolution was passed in this regard. The resolution would be sent officially to the Municipal Administration department soon, she added.