Team Herald
MARGAO: The Margao Municipal Council (MMC) on Thursday decided to hold the Holy Spirit feast fair on the SGPDA ground. This means the MMC will have to shell out an additional Rs 12-13 lakh as fees for using the SGPDA ground as the municipal land opposite the ground is in bad shape.
The decision comes following an inspection of the SGPDA grounds for installing stalls for the fair by MMC Chairperson Babita Angle, Vice Chairperson Tito Cardozo, Chief Officer Johnson Fernandes and other officials.
What is pertinent to note is that the MMC has now decided to collect stalls and garbage fees.
This time the civic body has nearly doubled the stall fees from Rs 2,000 plus to over Rs 3,500. However, the MMC will charge a fee of Rs 500 for collecting garbage this year as compared to Rs 800 charged last year. The chairperson informed that nearby 500 stalls including those selling furniture will be set up. It may be recalled that five years ago the MMC had shifted the fair to the municipal ground to save the civic body from spending lakhs of rupees from the municipal coffers.
This year, the MMC decided to collect the stall fees first and then allow the stall owners to conduct business. The civic body has also decided to depute a team to maintain a check on the stalls to avoid revenue loss.
Meanwhile, according to sources, the vendors have expressed concerns on account of the pre-monsoon showers lashing the state.
