City corporation fixes Rs 500 as pole rent for telcos

Thiruvananthapuram: After over two years of deliberations, the city corporation has lowered the pole rent it charges telecom companies from Rs 5,000 to Rs 500.

A council meeting of the corporation held recently arrived at the rate in line with that of other civic bodies.

Deputy mayor Rakhi Ravikumar said the rate of Rs 500 per pole was arrived at after taking into consideration all factors.

“We had initially thought of increasing the rate, however, there wasn’t a convincing reason why we should charge higher than other civic bodies,” Rakhi said.

The revenue wing had earlier recommended Rs 1,000 as rent while considering the application of a private firm. The amount was fixed after much discussion and collection of data regarding the amount being levied in other cities.