PONDA: Vendors from Ponda market on Tuesday set a deadline of eight days to Ponda Municipal Council (PMC) to roll back the hiked sopo rates, failing which they have threatened to observe a bandh.
Addressing a news conference at Ponda, the vendors complained that they are being overcharged and it was not possible for the poor vendors in the market to pay the exorbitant Sopo tax to the contractor.
The vendors claimed that the Sopo tax has been illegally hiked from Rs 5 to 20 and demanded to roll back the rates and collect it through the staff of PMC. The vendors have given eight days time to the PMC, failing which they will observe Bandh in the market.
Former PMC chairperson, Kishor alias Manikrao Mamlekar, who is also a vendor, stated that though PMC Chairperson Radhika Naik claimed that all Sopo contract formalities are legal, but it is not so.
“PMC raised the Sopo tax without taking approval in a special meeting and the process is illegal. Last year when Sopo tax was Rs 5, the Sopo bid was for Rs 65 lakh, but this year the Sopo bid for 10-and-half months is finalised for Rs 61 lakh,” said Mamlekar.
“If calculated proportionately, when Sopo is increased from Rs 5 to 20 this year, the Sopo bid must be finalised for atleast Rs 2.08 crore. It shows that the chairperson has failed to act in the interest of poor vendors and the Sopo contract is for the betterment of the contractor. PMC will not benefit, but the contractor will be benefited,” alleged Mamlekar.
“If ‘A’ class municipal councils charge Rs 5 per sq mtr, how can PMC, which is ‘B’ class municipal council, raise the Sopo tax to Rs 20 per sq mtr,” he questioned and condemned the alleged act of PMC Chairperson Naik and the Sopo contractor for threatening that if vendors do not pay the Sopo, then PMC will seize their items.
“In a meeting on Saturday, the vendors had decided not to pay Sopo tax, but the Sopo contractor is forcefully collecting Sopo tax by threatening that they will not be allowed to sell their items in the market,” claimed Mamlekar.
Other vendors present for the meeting were Ramnath Naik, Jafar Lahani, John Mascarenhas and Prateema Parwar.
