51 shops auctioned in KCB’s commercial complex project

Cantonment Executive Officer Sauvik Majumdar was pleased with the response to the auction. “It was quite good. We auctioned 51 shops and got good prices for all,” he said.

The board is gradually moving towards becoming a cabin-free zone. At present, barring the bungalow areas, the entire cantonment has stalls on almost every major road which has not only become a traffic nuisance, but is also an eye-sore.

While another commercial complex is slated to come up near Shewale Towers to accommodate the displaced hawkers, the board received sanction for the Rs 2.5 crore commercial complex which was mooted around five years ago and therefore, decided to go ahead with the auction for this complex.

Before the auction, the board members were apprehensive about the possible response to the auction. But citizens turned up in large numbers to make bids for the 51 shops put up for auction.

The response was quite unexpected. For the larger two shops, the cantonment board received bids worth Rs 36,000 and Rs 37,000 per month. The other shops were auctioned between Rs 5,000 per month to Rs 10,000 per month, depending on their sizes. The board is expected to earn a revenue of Rs 50 lakh per annum from this effort.

The shops have been leased out for five years. The lease will be renewed for another five-year term with an escalation clause of 25 per cent. The board is expected to place an advertisement next week for a separate auction for the reserved shops.

Six shops have been reserved for the ex-servicemen and war widows, two shops for the physically handicapped and a single shop each for a freedom fighter and hockey player Dhanraj Pillai.

When contacted, vice president William Smith said that they had already approached the family members of the hockey player who is currently out of the country. But the family is awaiting a response from Dhanraj Pillai before they make any kind of commitment to the board, he said.

The board has now sent the proceedings of the auction to the Command headquarters for approval. Following the finalisation, work is expected to begin soon on the complex. The CEO had earlier given an assurance that the project would be completed within a time span of 24 months.