PANJIM: The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has finally begun signing of the much delayed leave and licence agreement with the legal occupants of the municipal market from Tuesday.
The CCP has also decided to pay the principle amount of Rs 2.27 crore under the One Time Settlement Scheme of the Electricity Department by Monday. The actual due payment was Rs eight crore since 2003.
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Addressing media persons, Mayor Uday Madkaikar said the CCP on Tuesday signed the leave and licence agreement with two market occupants and more will be undertaken in days to come. “Over 150 market occupants are legal as per the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) list. Agreement will be signed with all,” he said.
“We will seek government approval in case of those, whose names are not there but have valid documents, to sign agreement with them,” he added.
PWD has approved rent charges of Rs 256 per sq mtr. CCP treasury is running without any rent from the tenants since the inception of market complex in 2002. “We have granted 18 months time to the occupants to pay their pending arrears. We have waived off the interest,” he said.
It’s been nearly seven years since ND Agarwal exposed the alleged city market shops scam in 2013. The inquiry exposed that almost 95 per cent of shopkeepers are illegal occupants.
“There is no market scam. If there was, then by now, it would have been exposed,” Madkaikar said.
The Bombay High Court at Goa had, in 2014, directed CCP to initiate recovery of arrears of rent and evict illegal occupants from shops in the city municipal market, within six months.
