Decision to shift Nava Bazaar shops deferred

VADODARA, June 25: The Standing Committee of Vadodara Municipal Corporation VMC today deferred a decision to shift nearly 115 shopkeepers ...

VADODARA, June 25: The Standing Committee of Vadodara Municipal Corporation VMC today deferred a decision to shift nearly 115 shopkeepers in Nava Bazaar due to realignment of the road, even as the opposition submitted a memorandum demanding that objections should be again invited from the shopkeepers.

A section of opposition councillors, including Congress leader Kanchan Parmar, barged into the Committee room when the meeting was in progress and submitted a memorandum alleging that there was something fishy as only shopkeepers on one side of the road were to be shifted.

8220;We doubt the manner in which the proposal has come in the supplementary agenda,8221; the councillors charged. They demanded that in all the proposals regarding changing the road alignment, the Corporation should clarify objections from the shopkeepers.

They demanded that the current proposal of shifting the shopkeepers in the Fort and decreasing the 60 ft road to 40 feet road be rejected.

In the proposal the administration had stated that the 60 feet road be reduced to 40 feet road and the shopkeepers be shifted as not much space was available. The proposal stated that although the General Board had given permission on October 21, 1970, the 60 feet road could not be laid.

The shopkeepers have agreed to relocate in the Fort built during the time of Mohammad Begda.

City BJP chief Bhupendra Lakhawala said the decision was deferred as the members wanted to know in detail how much area occupied by the shopkeepers would be cut.

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The members approved in principle a proposal to build an indoor stadium on the final plot of a town planning scheme in Karelibaug. The stadium will have a seating capacity of 2,000 and an estimated Rs 3.50 crore will be raised by conducting public auction of 4,000 square metre land owned by the VMC. The members also agreed to appoint an architect to design the stadium.

In another decision, the members gave a go ahead to recover as fine Rs 1,000 from persons not following guidelines laid down for marriage halls and the atithi gruhs. Utensils worth Rs 4 lakh will also be purchased for 3 atithi gruhs.