Fertiliser Corporation of India Limited (FCIL), in association with Sindri Chamber of Commerce, organised a camp on Thursday for shopkeepers to pay up pending rents for kiosks allotted to them by the PSU.

Around 250 shopkeepers of Saharpura, Rodabandh, Jai Hind More and Rangamati were served notices by FCIL for clearing their dues. Of them, over 200 shopkeepers paid their rents at the camp held in Gaushala Bazaar from 10am to 4pm. The rest can make payments at the FCIL office in Sindri till July 31 without any fine.

In a letter written to the chamber of commerce around 15 days ago, FCIL had mentioned that strict action would be taken against shopkeepers who failed to clear their dues.

Area manager of FCIL Ravikant Prasad said rents worth crores of rupees were pending for both residential quarters and shops and notices were being served to the defaulters regularly.

"The camp was organised for realising the pending rents in one go and doing so without inconveniencing the shopkeepers," said Prasad.

Treasurer of the chamber Dilip Ritolia, who also cleared four months' pending rent for a shop at Saharpura market owned by his family<> for more than 60 yearsand convinced the shopkeepers to clear their dues," said Ritolia.

Mohammed Parwez, who runs a stationary shop, said the camp helped him clear a year's pending dues, which he couldn't pay otherwise due to lack of time.

Other members of Sindri chamber of commerce like vice president Sardar Manjit Singh and co-treasurer Krishna Kumar Agarwal were also present at the camp.

Notably, around 500 shops were allotted to individuals by the FCIL when its Sindri plant was operational. Out of these around 350 shops are situated in Saharpura Bazaar and remaining in Rodhabandh, Jai Hind More and Rangamati.

After the closure of the FCIL unit in Sindri on December 31, 2002 following recurring losses, allotment of around 6,700 quarters and 500 shops were cancelled. The management had ordered to vacate the quarters and shops but following the state government's intervention due to massive public protest, it restored the allotments.