“The rental has been reduced but we have not ascertained the amount yet. It will be about Rs 2.2 lakh,” said Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya today. “We will also not charge amusement tax, worth around Rs 23,000, to the guild,” he added.

On December 23, after a meeting between Bhattacharya, Gangopadhyay and guild secretary Tridib Chattopadhyay, Park Circus Maidan was declared as the venue of the Book Fair. “In the meeting, the mayor had agreed to the guild paying just Rs 2 lakh,” Gangopadhyay told The Indian Express.

However, Chattopadhyay preferred not to reveal the exact settlement. “We have spoken to the KMC. They have decided to curtail the rent of the Park Circus Maidan.”

Last year after the Calcutta High Court banned the fair from the Maidan following court cases, the fair was shifted to the Yuba Bharati Krirangan at Salt Lake.

Before that, the fair had been organised on the Maidan for 31 years, where the guild paid a nominal Rs 150 per day as non-commercial tax to the Army.