The unallotted shops in front of CM Science College in Darbhanga. Picture by Mohan Mahato

Darbhanga, Sept. 7: The shops on the premises of the administrator’s residential building in front of CM Science College here are shut, as Darbhanga Municipal Corporation (DMC) is yet to rent them out.

Twenty-eight shops were given finishing touches in December 2009.

The DMC constructed the shops at an estimated cost of Rs 11 lakh.

The commissioner of DMC, Kumar Binod Narain Singh, told The Telegraph: “The issue of renting the shops will be discussed in a meeting with the ward councillors, the deputy mayor and the mayor, apart from the DMC officials within a fortnight. We expect a decision on the issue soon after the meeting.”

Sources said the DMC had started selling forms at Rs 500 seven or eight months ago to allot the shops on the basis of a lottery but it was stopped in 10 days.

The civic body had also decided to take Rs 45,000 as security money from the allottees and the rent was fixed at Rs 7 per sqft.

Sources added that since then no action has been taken.

Officials of the civic body said they decided to allot these shops to persons who were already running temporary shops on the same plot.

Later, this decision was rejected on the basis that earlier shopkeepers were running their outlets illegally and allotting shops to them would amount to promoting encroachment.

Officials added that they had thought about allotting shops through open bidding process.

The terms and conditions were fixed before filling the forms.

A condition was put in place saying that candidates had to submit the forms, along with residential and character certificates.

Around 111 forms were printed but the advertisement was published late in the local newspaper.

The candidates got only two days for submission of forms at the DMC office. Later, the date of submission was extended by 10 days.

According to sources, the DMC realised that the amount of rent was very low and the sale of forms and submission date were put off till further action could be taken. Till date, no policy has been framed to allot these shops.

Many are still running their business in front of the closed shops.

Ganesh Thakur, who is running a salon illegally, told The Telegraph: “I had submitted a form to the DMC office and got a receipt of Rs 500. I am running the salon for the past 20 years. I am scared of being displaced all the time.”