A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of senior officers of the corporation held in the Town Hall under the chairmanship of Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, Harkesh Singh Sidhu.

D. C. Sharma, health officer of the corporation, said the licence fee had been revised to Rs 500 per year under Section 343 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976.

Sharma said the corporation had also extended the date for receipt of applications for grant of licence up to February 15, after which a five fold penalty would be imposed on the erring traders. Corporation employees would visit markets and have the licence forms filled up by the shopkeepers.

Anybody furnishing wrong information would be proceeded against. Also, any employee found indulging in any corrupt practice would invite serious disciplinary action.Earlier, a delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and the Shiromani Akali Dal had called on the MC authorities, demanding the hike in licence fee for shops be withdrawn immediately.

A delegation of the Beopar Mandal, led by its president Nirmal Dass Malhotra and general secretary G. S. Bedi had also made the same demand when they called on the corporation authorities.