Goemkarponn Desk
CANACONA: Canacona Municipality, though classified as B Class Category Municipality in the State of Goa has an outstanding record to pay its workers from its own coffer/funds/revenue earned by this civic body, has an overwhelming outstanding of 2.8 crores of rupees due from the various establishments/traders in the municipal area.
The issue was hotly discussed in the recently held Council meeting, where councillors demanded stringent measures to make the recovery from the erring traders/establishments.
While the citizens of the municipality have been regularly paying their house rent, business tax, advertising board rent, rent of municipal shops, rent of premises taken on lease from the municipality, sopo paid by fish sellers, vegetable and fruit sellers, licence/trade fees by the traders who put up shacks, tents and shops in the municipal areas, there is any outstanding of rupees Two crore eight lakhs since the last 10 years. This huge amount has failed to come into municipal coffers.
The interesting part is that the municipality has not yet received the rental amount of around 48 lakh rupees alone for using part of the municipal building by Directorate of Arts and Culture for running the Government Library in one part of the Portuguese era municipal building now demolished for new upcoming 1+ 2 Municipal Complex.’, informed Chairperson of Canacona Municipality Ramakant Naik Gaonkar.
A special meeting of the Canacona Municipal Council was held on Friday, in which a decision was unanimously taken to recover the revenue/taxes pending from the citizens and traders of the municipal area in order to develop the municipal area.
‘Three years will be completed, since the present Council has been elected, and it should not be that councillors have to just to come and eat biscuits and tea at the council meetings. The Municipal areas should be developed and we need funds for the same. Take action against those who have not paid rent or various taxes. The recovery should be taken on very high priority’, demanded Councillor Pandurang alias Dhiraj Naik Gaonkar, which literally all the councillors including Chairperson agree In the meeting
To the chagrin of councillors, CMC Chairperson Naikgaonkar informed that 28 shacks in the Canacona municipality area have not yet paid their fees/ money. However, they unhindered carry on their trade/do business without any let-up. ‘Their shacks will be sealed. Besides, amongst the shops located at the KTC Bus stand complex, only one shopkeeper is doing business with a trade license from the municipality, while others have not obtained a trade license from the municipality. A decision is taken in the municipal meeting that the shops of such traders will be sealed in the next fifteen days’.
It also came for discussion in the meeting that the shops of the Canacona municipality have been taken on lease and given to others at a monthly rent of 20,000 and above. The Chairperson informed that it is decided to take strict action against such shopkeepers, including where some of them (shopkeepers) have opened two shops and some have three shops and some have closed the shops. Action will be initiated against such shopkeepers’.
Vice Chairperson Narcisco Fernandes, Councillors Sara NaikDesai, Amita Pagi, Supriya Desai, Hemant Naik Gaonkar, Laxuman Pagi, Shubham Komarpant, Gandesh Madgaonkar, Simon Rebelo, were present while the administration team was led by Chief Officer Madhu Narvekar, and Municipal Engineer Ankush Velip, Staff members/Accountant Namrata Desai, Bharti Madgaonkar, Santosh Komarpant also remained present
