Berhampur, April 1: City-based businessmen, who were allotted shops by the municipal authorities on rental basis, are up in arms against the Berhampur Municipal Corporation’s decision of a threefold hike in rent.

“The municipal commissioner has issued notice five days ago and asked us to pay the exorbitant rent from April 1 onwards. We demand that the order must be withdrawn immediately,” said Satya Rao, secretary of SNT Road Merchants Association and working president of the newly formed Mahanagar Nigam Merchants’ Confederation.

Authorities of the erstwhile Berhampur Municipality had hiked the rent for shops by 30 per cent in 2007.

A delegation of the newly formed Mahanagar Nigam Merchants Confederation met the municipal commissioner at his office yesterday. “We submitted a memorandum demanding withdrawal of the arbitrary order. Political leaders including Bikram Panda of Congress, Ramchandra Panda of BJP and others extended their moral support to us,” said Rao.

“The reason for rent hike for the shops as mentioned in the notice is increase in the rate of petrol and diesel and financial burden due to implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission. We are in no way related to these factors,” a merchant said.

“Most of the merchants who are allotted the shop rooms built by the Berhampur Municipality have deposited advance payment for construction of the room and signed the agreement. The civic authorities have had never spent a single rupee for the maintenance of the rooms which also lack basic amenities. The municipal corporation authorities that hiked the rent recently had never sought our opinion on the matter. The gradation of the shops into four categories and fixation of rent accordingly by the Berhampur Municipal Corporation are completely arbitrary,” said Rao.

There are about 1, 200 shops built by Berhampur Municipality at different places of the city, which are being allotted to traders.

Municipal commissioner, Bhim Manseth said that the decision to hike the rent of the shops was taken by the Corporation’s council earlier. “The next meeting would be held on April 7 and we would place the matter before the council for a final decision,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jyoti Prasad Chotray, secretary of the local Bar Association described the decision for rent hike as ‘illegal’. “The rent can be hiked 10 per cent in a year as per the law. It can’t be raised arbitrarily by 300 per cent,” said Chotray.