MARGAO: The Margao Municipal Council (MMC) passed a surplus budget of Rs 5.88 crore for the financial year 2023-24, at a special meeting on Thursday. The proposed receipts for the annual budget are Rs 84.59 crore, while the proposed expenditure is Rs 78.71 crore. According to Abhay Rane, senior accounts officer of MMC, there is an increase of 43.66% in the proposed budget for 2023-24, compared to the original budget of 2022-23.
During the meeting, the MMC accounts section was questioned about high budget projections, and the council revealed plans to increase taxes and fees to raise revenue. MMC Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar explained that the hikes were based on instructions from the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) and would be uniform across all municipalities in Goa.
The fee for garbage collection from residences will increase to Rs 735 from Rs 600, while house tax will also increase. Fees owed by government buildings to the municipality will also see an increase. Senior councillor Ghanshyam Shirodkar questioned why the MMC was not earning revenue from mobile towers. He said, “These companies are earning in crores and the civic body should be earning in lakhs from the mobile towers.” The council promised to conduct a survey of all the mobile towers and investigate ways to earn revenue from them.
The budget for the garbage yard has been increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 crore to keep the MMC’s jurisdiction free from black spots. It was also decided to increase the honorarium for all councillors to Rs 60 lakh from Rs 36 lakh. Councillor Camilo Barretto requested the Chairperson to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with either a new or the existing caretaker of the stray dog shelter and increase the shelter’s size, which was accepted.
The opposition councillors also criticized the MMC for not having its accounts audited in recent years. However, the Chairperson assured them that the issue would be addressed.
