Integrated Market in Ieeja Town Still Inactive Despite Construction a Year Ago

Gadwal: In Ieeja Municipality, Jogulamba Gadwal district, an integrated veg and non-veg market was constructed opposite the Ambedkar statue at a cost of approximately ₹2 crore. It was inaugurated by then Agriculture Minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy during the previous BRS government. However, nearly a year has passed, and no business activities have started, with local vendors reluctant to move in.

Despite The Hans India reporting on the matter earlier, the negligence of former municipal authorities has left the market, built with significant investment, lying unused. The current municipal commissioner issued a notification on the 18th of last month, calling for tenders with a ₹50,000 deposit and a ₹5 lakh collateral security bond. However, this high deposit discouraged small vendors, with only three applicants coming forward out of 24 applications for 80 shops.

To address this, the Municipal Commissioner convened an emergency meeting with the municipal council. Based on the members’ opinions, they decided to reduce the deposit amount from ₹50,000 to ₹10,000 and for non-RCC sheds, to just ₹5,000. A copy of this resolution was sent to the District Collector for approval. The commissioner stated that once approval is received, new tenders will be called under the revised terms. Refunds will be issued to those who had previously applied.

Over the past 15 days, the authorities removed makeshift stalls along the main roads, where small traders had set up sheds. Despite significant efforts to encourage these vendors to move into the integrated market, no progress has been made. The small traders argue that illegal occupants have built shops on government land and are renting them out, making it difficult to attract customers to the new market. They claim they would rather not invest in deposits and rents for shops inside the market if they expect low footfall.

The Municipal Commissioner admitted the lack of staff to take action against those who have illegally built shops on drainage lines in the town. However, he assured Hans India that they will soon remove illegal structures and work toward ensuring the proper operation of the market. He also requested the government to appoint a full-time Commissioner, AE (Assistant Engineer), and Town Planning Officer (TPO) for Ieeja to address staff shortages.

Finally, the commissioner warned local hotels, shops, hostels, and scrap businesses to maintain cleanliness in their surroundings, or legal action will be taken.