Intensifying its criticism of the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) over the steep hike in trade and signboard license fees, the Shadow Council for Margao (SCM) on Friday slammed the Council for failing to recover over Rs 1.44 crore in rent dues from premises leased out in the New Market and Gandhi Market.
SCM Convener Savio Coutinho, joined by Lincoln Gomes, Anwar Naroo, Aneil Alvares, Sujata Parsekar, Damodar Onskar and Camilo Camara, presented RTI documents to the media showing the extent of the unpaid dues and accused the Council of targeting small traders instead of recovering rightful revenue from its own properties.
Coutinho said the Council’s inability to collect long-pending dues had led to an unfair situation where genuine traders running businesses in private premises are being penalised through an “illegal and exorbitant” hike in fees. He pointed out that private landlords are made to pay revised house tax equivalent to a month’s rent, while MMC continues to lease out dozens of shops and kiosks for token rents ranging from Rs 10 to a few hundred rupees.
“It is shocking that while these amounts have piled up, the same Council is turning on honest business owners and fleecing them with unjustifiable fee increases. This is not just poor governance, it’s an injustice,” Coutinho said.