Ponda sopo issue revived after two years

The sopo issue in Ponda, which was almost forgotten, has been revived after two years, with the Ponda Municipal Council (PMC) resolving to initiate legal proceedings against the market vendors for the recovery of sopo arrears of around Rs 35 lakh.

Although the ruling MGP-BJP alliance claims it has developed Ponda, it has failed to solve the sopo issue. Except for the market vendors and MGP MLA Lavoo Mamlatdar levelling allegations against the PMC and vice-versa, no effort has been made to sit together to sort out the issue, due to which the PMC has been unable to recover sopo arrears, which according to Chairperson Radhika Naik, is around Rs 35 lakh.

The Ponda market vendors had launched an agitation in 2014-15 against the exorbitant hike in the sopo rate from Rs 5 to Rs 20 for the vendors in the market shed and Rs 10 in the open market.

Thereafter, former chief minister Manohar Parrikar intervened and reduced further the rate to Rs 12 for vendors in the market shed and Rs 6 in the open market. But the matter has not been solved, and several times, the vendors have resorted to agitations and issuing memorandums to the DMA and Chief Minister. The market vendors finally knocked the doors of the High Court, where the matter is sub-judice.

At a meeting held two weeks ago, the PMC had resolved to initiate legal proceedings against the market vendors to recover the sopo arrears of Rs 35 lakh.

Chairperson Radhika Naik said that sopo arrears of Rs 35 lakh had been pending for 10 months for 2014-15. She said that after opposing the payment of hiked sopo rate to the sopo contractor in 2014-15, the Ponda market vendors had given an undertaking that they would collect the fees from the vendors and pay the same to the PMC. But after paying Rs 3.57 lakh for two months, the vendors did not pay the rest of the fees for ten months, which amounts to Rs 35 lakh.

According to PMC sources, the vendors also have to pay sopo for 2015-2016 to the PMC, and the latter is expected to get around Rs 75 lakh.

Meanwhile, the Ponda market vendors’ leader Kishore Mamlekar has blamed the PMC for the non-recovery of dues and alleged that the PMC’s resolution to send notices to the vendors was harassment of the latter. 

Market vendors’ leader Kishore Mamlekar expressed anger over the recent resolution to send legal notices to the vendors for the recovery of sopo arrears and alleged that the PMC was responsible for the failure in recovering the sopo arrears. He also alleged that the PMC had favoured the sopo contractor, which was also responsible for the non-recovery of the outstanding sopo.

He said that when the disputes first arose over sopo in 2014-15, the vendors had agreed to collect the same and deposit it in the PMC’s bank account.

“We deposited around Rs 4.20 lakh and Rs 4.31 lakh in the PMC bank account in two installments. But surprisingly, this year, when we tried to transfer Rs 1.17 lakh in Jan, Rs 1.18 lakh in Feb and Rs 1.17 lakh in March in a similar way, the money was not transferred from our account to the PMC’s bank account. The vendors are not responsible for this,” said Mamlekar.

He said that even though the PMC had stated that Rs 35 lakh was outstanding, the vendors were not bound to pay it. 

“We have done correspondence with the PMC that the per square metre rate of Rs 12 per day is not acceptable to the vendors. So we are settling for a sopo rate of Rs 100 per month per square metres. As per this calculation, we assume that we have paid 10 months sopo by way of two installments deposited with the PMC bank account. Thereafter, we also tried to transfer the money to settle the two-month arrears, but three times it was returned as the PMC bank account did not accept it. So how are we responsible for it?” said Mamlekar.

He further said, “The sopo hike matter is sub-judice. How can the PMC issue us notices for recovering sopo? The PMC contractor failed to pay the sopo, but his contract was not terminated nor was a police complaint filed against him for his bounced cheque.”

Mamlekar further said that the market project was built four years ago, but except for few shops, the majority portion of the market was unoccupied. He said that at the time of construction of the new market, many vendors were shifted to a temporary shed and were assured of rehabilitation, but the PMC had failed to fulfill the same. He said that around 93 vendors having shops in the old market had approached the court, following which the PMC assured to provide them shops if they withdrew the case.

“We withdrew the case, but we have still not been rehabilitated, even though some shop owners were given shops. A few shop owners on the ground floor are being charged Rs 100 per square metres per month, whereas the vendors who are operating in the temporary market shed are charged a high sopo rate. Since the market project rates are lower, around 93 vendors from the temporary shed are demanding that they be accommodated in the market project, as was assured by the PMC, otherwise the vendors will stop paying sopo to the PMC.

Former chief minister Ravi Naik stated, “The Ponda  market project, which is incomplete, should be completed by government and the vendors operating in the temporary market shed be shifted to the new market. The vendors should be allotted proper shops by earmarking the area, and accordingly, the PMC should collect fixed annual fees. The PMC should not harass vendors over the sopo issue. After allotting shops and deciding the monthly or yearly sopo for each vendor, it will be easy for the PMC to collect the sopo, and the fight will also come to an end.