Team Goemkarponn
MARGAO: Margao Congress Block and Shadow Council for Margao (SCM) Convener Savio Coutinho has urged all affected trade license holders and taxpayers to attend the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) ordinary meeting scheduled for Friday, 18 July 2025. The meeting will include the confirmation of the controversial license fee hike resolution passed on 27 February 2025. Addressing a press conference alongside Arch. Carlos Gracias, Lincoln Gomes, Lalan Parsekar, Iftiyaz Sayed, Damodar Onskar, Camilo Camara, Anwar Naroo, and Sahadev Parsekar, SCM appealed to opposition councillors to vote against the resolution and demand a formal division, which would publicly reveal those in favour of the “exorbitant hike”.
SCM pointed out that while MMC Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar had earlier stated that the hike was only 10-15%, the actual increase in fees, as revealed in the public notice, ranged from 200% to 550%. Following the public outcry, several opposition councillors confirmed that the meeting minutes were manipulated and had submitted memorandums to the MMC Chief Officer and the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) seeking action.
SCM also raised questions over the high cost of renovating the municipal building, which is estimated at ₹14.82 crore. Savio Coutinho pointed out that with a floor area of 1,352 square metres, the renovation cost works out to ₹54,880 per square metre — an inflated figure by industry standards.
Further, SCM once again raised alarm over the multi-level parking facility project, calling it a potential “white elephant”. The group noted that the number of car parking slots had been reduced to just 70, down from over 150 in the earlier proposal, even as ramps were eliminated. They warned that with only a five-year maintenance clause, the project would become a long-term financial liability.
Architect Carlos Gracias proposed an alternative solution, suggesting that removing over 150 abandoned vehicles from city roads would create ample free parking space without any expenditure. Meanwhile, Lincoln Gomes slammed the MMC’s plan to rehabilitate gaddas and handcarts at the old bus stand, accusing the council of indulging in vote-bank politics at the cost of public land. He reminded that a long-promised amphitheatre on the same land had never materialised.
Damodar Onskar accused the BJP government of grossly inflating project estimates and cited the Rawanfond bridge project, which allegedly saw costs balloon from ₹21 crore to ₹74 crore. SCM concluded by warning the MMC council and the BJP government that citizens would continue to expose corruption and misgovernance in the public interest.
