Mysore/Mysuru: Despite manifold increase in the rents of private buildings, land value and a steep rise in the land prices, especially in the city areas, hundreds of tenants who have taken several properties owned by the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) are still paying a paltry rent of Rs. 30 to Rs. 40 a month.

The MCC owns 1,941 properties at 15 places and at the yesterday’s Council meeting, a decision was taken to revise the rents per square foot, based on the guidance value prescribed by the jurisdictional Sub-Registrar.

The rents were last revised 18 years back and if the revised rents come into effect, the MCC that is at present getting a revenue of Rs. 1.60 crore can easily gain a revenue of Rs. 5 crore. Shockingly, several properties are paying the rent that existed in 1941.

The Council took objection to the fact that despite the lack of resources for welfare programmes, the MCC has not yet raised the rents and the tenants continue to enjoy the facilities though the rental value has multiplied by many times over the years.

The properties that have been rented out include Devaraja Market, Visvesvaraya Building, Lansdowne Building, Kalidasa Road, Old Bus Stand, Jayalakshmipuram, Metagalli, Bidaram Krishnappa Road, Kumbarakoppal, Mandi Market, Vani Vilas Market, scrap yards, petrol pumps, tennis courts, milk and fish outlets.

An officer participating in the discussion told the Council that several tenants have approached the Courts against eviction orders issued by the MCC. Reacting to this, Commissioner G. Lakshmikantha Reddy informed the Council that though there is opposition to evict tenants, there has been no resistance to increase the rents.

The Council resolved to revise the rents per square foot based on the guidance value with retrospective effect from January 2023.