BL reported that as the deadline of September 30th 2009 set by the Supreme Court for shifting the iron and steel market from George Town in north Chennai ended on Wednesday, several merchants were in the process of shifting their establishments to Sathangadu near Manali.
It was a race against time as Tamil Nadu Electricity Board had issued notices stating that it would cut off power supply to their shops in George Town if they did not shift all operations. The Commercial Tax Department has also issued notices sometime ago, warning them that their VAT and CST registration would be cancelled.
AS per report, barring those shops from where materials were being moved out, most of the establishments on Sembudoss Street, Jones Street and adjacent lanes and streets in George Town, the hub of the wholesale iron and steel market, were closed. There were little signs of business activity.
The report cited Mr SCM Jamaldeen president of South India Iron and Hardware Merchants Association as saying that “We respect the Supreme Court order and have requested all our members to move out of George Town despite complaints about poor infrastructure and inadequate security in the complex developed by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority in Sathangadu.”
He said the insistence of the State government authorities that the merchants should not even have their offices in George Town is not correct. He said “They wanted the wholesale iron and steel warehouses to be shifted with which we have complied. But it is wrong to say that we cannot have offices in George Town, it is nothing but violation of fundamental rights.”
When contacted, a senior TNEB official confirmed that the Board had issued notices to hundreds of wholesale merchants in George Town cautioning them that if they failed to shift their operations, the power supply would be cut off. He added that the TNEB was only acting as per a Madras High Court order of April 30 this year.
The State Government had issued a notification dated February 23rd 1999, designating the ‘Market area’ located in Sathangadu for wholesale iron and steel trade in Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area. The Madras High Court had directed the authorities to complete the process of shifting the iron and steel market by mid-June. The traders in turn had filed a petition in Supreme Court, which extended the deadline for shifting of the iron and steel market to September 30.
(Sourced from www.steelguru.com)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
End of steel market era at George Town in Chennai
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