Tensions esca lated at Gandhi Market in Margao following protests by vendors over sopo fees, which they allege were im posed without prior con sultation or consensus. The situation prompted the de ployment of police person nel at the site to maintain law and order as the con frontation intensified. The controversy took a more confrontational turn when former minister Babu Ajgaonkar intervened at the site and reportedly drove away the contractor who had been tasked with collecting the sopo fees for encroached areas. Ajgaon kar objected to the same, stating that fees had been imposed without adequate dialogue with shopkeepers and affected stakeholders. Speaking on the issue, Ajgaonkar asserted that the municipal authori ty should calculate sopo charges strictly on the ba sis of the actual measured area of shops, rather than including any additional or disputed space.
He maintained that if there are cases of en croachment or unauthor ised extensions, vendors are prepared to face legal action, but should not be compelled to pay extra charges without proper verification and due pro cess. “There is political inter ference pertaining to the sopo fees. We will not tol erate ‘dadagiri’ to extract sopo fees,” he said, adding that vendors would refuse to comply with the revised rates if they continued to face what he described as harassment from civic au thorities. He further alleged incon sistencies in the manner in which the fee revision was carried out. According to him, the tender for sopo collection had been issued based on earlier surveys conducted by the civic body. However, the deci sion to conduct a fresh sur vey of extended area and subsequently increase the charges was, in his view, unjustified and lacked transparency.
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He argued that any addi tional area being treated as encroached land must first be formally regularised or legally validated before imposing revised fees on vendors. Ajgaonkar also raised questions regarding the role of market inspec tors, asking why alleged encroachments were not identified or addressed earlier if they had indeed existed within shop prem ises. He suggested that accountability within the system needed to be exam ined before placing addi tional financial burdens on vendors. Calling for a resolution to the dispute, he urged the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) to convene a meet ing with representatives of vendors from both mar kets. He said that such a dia logue would help all par ties arrive at a fair and mutually acceptable solu tion, rather than escalating tensions through unilateral decisions.
