Margao sopo tender auctioned again

MARGAO: The Margao Municipal Council on Friday awarded the sopo tax collection to the highest bidder for an amount of Rs 39.16 lakh. The civic body auctioned the sopo tax collection midway through the financial year after the former contractor abandoned the work after collecting the sopo fees for two months. The incident triggered a major row in the civic body as it later came to light that the municipality had allowed the sopo contractor to collect the tax without obtaining the mandatory bank guarantee. An inquiry was later conducted by the DMA Elvis Gomes.