Ponda: The four year old Sopo issue is likely to be resolved as the Chief Officer Navanath Naik got a positive response from the vendors present at the meeting. They expressed their readiness to pay the pending dues of sopo tax totalling Rs. 1 Crores.
It may be recalled the Ponda Market Shed Vendors in the year 2014-15 started a agitation against the hike in Sopo claiming it was hiked four times from Rs 5 to Rs 20. However after the government intervened, the rates were reduced to Rs.12 for market shed vendors and Rs 6 for footpath Vendors. However the issue was taken to Court by the vendors and was not settled for the past four years. Vendors conducted business in the market shed without paying Sopo Tax to the pmc. The Chief Officer Navnath Sawanth who is just took charge decided to hold a meeting with the vendors and settle the issue.
Out of 256 market shed vendors around 40 were present. As per pmc records a total of Rs 1 crore is due from Vendors for the past four years to which the Vendors are ready to pay at various rates and to clear the dues.
The Sopo rates for the year 2014-15 will be charged and dues will be recovered from the market shed vendors at the rate of Rs 7 per square metres. For the year 2015-16 the sopo rates will be Rs. 8 per square metres. For the Year 2016-17 Rs 9 per square metres will be charged for vendors conducting business in the Market shed. For the year 2017-18 Rs 10 will be charged per square metres as sopo taxes.
Meanwhile the Market Shed Vendors President Kishore Naik said the issue was not settled as the matter was in court and further the PMC had rejected the sopo payment from the market vendors which they were willing to pay under protest during the agitation. He said, “Now since the tax arrears is a legal due, since it is binding on them to pay the arrears and vendors too seem interested in depositing it with the PMC. I will write to PMC to settle the issue in cooperation with the vendors and to accept taxes from those who seem ready to clear it”.
