It may be mentioned here that board president Brig Mrinal Suman had turned down suggestions made by elected members to issue notices to the 76 stalls which have remained closed all along. ``The fact that these stalls have remained vacant for the last two years is ample evidence that the stall owners do not require them,'' he had stated during the meeting. The stall owners who were located near Holkar Water Supply Works and had lost them during the action initiated by the station headquarters, Khadki, the station commander had decided to remove them last year since they were erected on A-1 defence land.

The board had framed a policy in 1992 to allot stalls in various parts of the cantonment for the benefit of residents. As a result, stalls mushroomed on A-1, B-2 and B-3 land besides civil areas and most of them ended up becoming a major traffic nuisance.

The 262 stalls allotted by former cantonment executive officer B A Thayalan found themselves in the eye of a storm since they did not conform to the existing land policy. Significantly, the licence period of all the 262 stalls expired on March 31, 1998. Hence, the board did not take rent from these stalls for the past year.

The board will henceforth accept rent only from the stalls located on C land and those located in civil areas. The fate of the 94 stalls located on A-1, B-2 and B-3 lands are quite likely to be removed by the board soon. Stalls located on the Mumbai-Pune highway crossing, Sapras, Tilak Road, Home Guard Corner, Sarvatra Vihar, Sangamwadi and Aundh Road. The elected members have therefore placed a demand before the board to re-locate these among the 76 stalls which have remained closed for years together.