Team Herald
MARGAO: At a special Margao Municipal Council (MMC) meeting, a decision was taken to revise the various fees charged by the civic body to the public and businesses in the town.
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Speaking to reporters after the meeting, MMC Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar stated that the revision was necessary as these fees had not been updated for around seven to eight years.
He explained that after conducting a comparative study with the Chief Officer and MMC accountants, they found that despite MMC being an ‘A’ class municipality, its fees were lower than those of Mormugao Municipal Council, which is classified as a ‘B’ class municipality.
The proposed fee increases will apply to trade licences, services such as birth and death certificates, income certificates, trade licenses, property transfers to blood relatives, and other certifications and documents issued by MMC.
Shirodkar clarified that the hike would be around 10-15%, not 50-60%, and that considering the backlog of years without annual revisions, the increase was reasonable.
He further stated that house tax rates would remain unchanged for now, but a 12% interest would be levied as a penalty for late payments.
Earlier in the meeting, councillors raised concerns about delays in processing house tax payment applications and other pending files.
It was also suggested that MMC implement a single-window system to streamline the payment process for house tax and other municipal fees, a proposal that had been discussed in previous council meetings.
Shirodkar concluded by stating that these revisions will be presented at the upcoming MMC budget meeting, where the budget estimates for the next financial year will be discussed before final approval.
