Team Herald
MARGAO: Margao Municipal Council has put on hold for the time being the revised sanitation fees so that the same can be reviewed and urged people to continue paying the house and trade tax along with the old sanitation fees of Rs 600 and Rs 1800.
Speaking to media persons, Municipal Chairperson Dr Babita Angle Prabhudessai candidly admitted that there were many complaints from various sections of society about the sanitation tax and that the same needed to be revised. “I personally think a policy evolves and that is what is happening here as we had started sanitation tax for the first time and these are the teething problems,” she said.
She said the council would need at least another 15 to 20 days to revise the sanitation tax following which, she said, it would be notified.
She said that she would have to convene a fresh meeting of the council to discuss not only revised tax but also the decision taken on Tuesday to hold back the revised fee for the time being.
Dr Prabhudessai said those who had already paid the taxes need not worry as the extra amount they paid would be adjusted with the taxes due for the next year and said the new taxes may be paid once they are notified or next year.
Earlier, a large number of people from Margao called on her demanding that the sanitation tax be scrapped immediately. She admitted to the gathering that she had got complaints from other sectors too and was at the moment just gathering the feedback from people.
She assured them that the sanitation tax would be put on hold and suggested setting up a committee of professionals like chartered accountants and advocates to guide the council in this matter.
Major part of the nearly two hour discussion was taken up to take stock of the door-to-door garbage collection which the gathered crowd chorused was not working and objected to the chairperson asking them why they did not complain to the council that people were not collecting the garbage regularly.
The crowd gathered suggested that tax should be not as per the household but as per the area of the house or shop which was acceptable to her but she pointed out that these issues will have to be discussed by the council first.
Convener of Shadow Council for Margao Savio Coutinho who led the movement on Tuesday said the chairperson had also agreed to consider tax exemption for closed premises provided the owner of the premises produces proof like an electricity or water bill to show that the premises are not used.
