MARGAO: In a setback to the Margao Municipal Council (MMC), the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) in a letter to the civic body has informed it that ‘sopo’ of the contractor cannot be waived off.
“The municipal council has to make a detailed examination and take a reasonably sound resolution before taking any decision to waive sopo,” said Clen Madeira, Additional Director, and Urban Development in its letter to the MMC.
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The DMA was responding to a complaint filed by the Shadow Council of Margao (SCM) where objections were raised against MMC’s decision to waive Rs 32 lakh of sopo contractor’s outstanding instalments.
Based on this, the SCM has demanded that the outstanding arrears of the sopo contractor be recovered immediately and that MMC scrap its council resolution dated March 24, 2022.
The SCM warned that if the outstanding instalments are not recovered within 15 days, it would legally take up the issue with the competent authority.
“Alternatively, 16 councillors, who supported the decision for waiver, should deposit Rs 2 lakh each in the municipal treasury and subsequently justify the waiver,” said SCM convenor Savio Coutinho.
It may be recalled that the sopo contractor was granted relief on account of the lockdown in 2021 during the COVID second wave.
The SCM pointed out that even the traders from Margao who had requested for 50% reduction in the trade/signboard/sanitation fees on account of the total lockdown, were not granted relief.
“In such circumstances how could the sopo contractor be granted such a huge waiver of Rs 32 lakh from April 2021 to August 2021, when the lockdown was partial,” Coutinho questioned.
