MARGAO: The Margao Municipal Council is taking serious action against a sopo collector who has failed to pay nearly Rs 30 lakh towards sopo tax, despite being served with a notice four months ago. The council has decided to issue a final notice, followed by seizure of the collector’s properties if the amount is not paid within 15 days. Some councillors have expressed frustration and demanded that the money should be recovered from the collector, or his property seized.
In the past, the council had resolved to waive the sopo fees collected by its contractor due to pandemic losses. However, the Department of Urban Development had rejected this proposal. In December 2022, the council issued a notice to the contractor, demanding payment of the outstanding sopo fees, but the contractor has failed to pay up.
Councillor Mahesh Amonkar has urged the council to take the issue seriously and initiate the next procedure to seize the contractor’s properties as recovery towards the sopo fee. “The civic body is now feeling the pinch due to these revenue losses, and the council has a duty to take the issue seriously and recover the huge amount at the earliest,” he told reporters.
Following Amonkar's demand, the Chief Officer, Manuel Barretto, instructed the concerned officer to issue the final notice and seize the properties if the outstanding fees are not paid within 15 days.
The Shadow Council for Margao had previously opposed waiving the fees to the contractor and even complained to the Urban Development Department. Additional Director of Urban Development, Clen Madeira, had informed the MMC that sopo fees cannot be waived without detailed examination.