MAPUSA/MARGAO: The All Goa Merchants Association United Forum has expressed gratitude to Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant for accepting their demand to scrap the Municipalities Ordinance and requested him to take the stakeholders into confidence before proposing the Bill with the amendments to Municipal Act.

Forum Convenor Ashish Shirodkar said, “The Forum would like to thank the Chief Minister for accepting our demand of scrapping of Municipalities Ordinance (2020) as well as the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry for taking up our cause with the government.”

Shirodkar said, “We have learnt from reliable sources that the government has proposed to introduce a Bill with the amendments to the Municipal Act. We expect that the CM will take all the stakeholders including us into confidence as we were assured during our last meet.”

“This Ordinance would have proved harmful for the merchants in the long run but the government accepted our representation and scrapped the Ordinance,” he said.

“The forum members from Goa took the lead in opposing this Ordinance and stood united in times of such a crisis,” Shirodkar added.

Meanwhile, Shadow Council for Margao (SCM) has welcomed the withdrawal of the Ordinance amending the Goa Municipalities Act.

The SCM said, “The people will have to remain vigilant as it will now be introduced as a Bill in the Assembly.”