Hawkers in the town continue to rule Krishna Prakash Road though Gaya Municipal Corporation (GMC) has stopped realising tax against setting up of makeshift stalls along the footpath of the thoroughfare following a high court order.
The footpath and both the flanks of Krishna Prakash Road in the heart of the town are flooded with temporary stalls. Anti-encroachment drives launched on several occasions in the past have failed to free the road of the temporary encroachers.
Sources said the main reason leading to the failure of the anti-encroachment drives is huge investment by those setting up temporary stalls in terms of payment of monthly rent of the space and one-time advance amounts to private parties. The amounts realised as monthly rent or one-time advance do not reach the GMC coffer. A temporary stall owner told The Telegraph that he had paid Rs 80,000 as one-time advance money and pays Rs 6,000 as monthly rent for his kiosk to a private party.
Rent amounts vary between Rs 500 and Rs 8,000 per month, while the range of advance is from Rs 20,000 to Rs 1 lakh, the sources said.
Till 2003, GMC used to issue bids every year for setting up stalls on the footpath along the road. A private party used to purchase a bid for a certain amount payable to GMC. The party used to fix monthly tax against setting up of the temporary stalls. However, no one-time advance amount had to be paid then.
On the stretch from Kotwali Mor to Bhadani cold storage, more than 1,000 stalls were set up on both sides of the road. Nine years since GMC stopped realising tax, the scenario has not changed. The number of stalls along the road has only increased.
“A tenant is not entitled to lease a space to a sub-tenant. But this is happening on the road,” said Laljee Prasad, the councillor of ward number 22. Earlier, GMC issued bids on an annual payment up to Rs six lakh, which went into the account of the civic body. “The rents collected these days are illegal,” Pasad added.
Mukesh Dutt Tiwari, a resident of Fatehganj Mohulla, said: “The road is at least 50ft wide. But not more than 20ft is left for commuters.”
GMC (city) commissioner Dhaneshwar Chaudhary said he had no information about the rent or advance realised from people for setting up stalls.
