With Rs 35 crore in unpaid arrears, Margao civic body fails to make ends meet

MARGAO: Expressing concern over the dire financial state of the Margao Municipal Council, the State Finance Committee on Tuesday raised the alarm over its outstanding arrears amounting to Rs 35.37 crore, and called for the civic body to be proactive in collecting its dues.

At a meeting of the State Finance Committee held at the Council, Chairman Daulat Hawaldar highlighted the MMC’s high expenditure and slow pace of recovery, and informed the council about how the Corporation of the City of Panaji was effectively managing waste collection and disposal with its own workers.

Hawaldar also deliberated on the expenditure on remediating the Sonsodo dump. MMC Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar told reporters that the meeting was held to guide the civic body pertaining to its finances, but refused to give details about the issues discussed.

Councillors Ghanashyam Shirodkar raised some important issues such as the loss of revenue due to abolition of octroi (tax on goods brought into a district, now replaced by GST) and the problem of illegal houses without house numbers resulting in loss of revenue.

Former MMC Chairperson and Shadow Council for Margao Convener Savio Coutinho, who also attended the meeting, shared details about the civic body’s poor finances, remarking that the MMC has spent crores of rupees on waste management over the past five years, but has failed to derive a single kilogram of compost.

He added that the huge outstanding amount of Rs 11.48crs in house tax and Rs 3.74 crore by way of trade tax, can be attributed to the discrimination in the taxation system, where only the loyal taxpayers are subjected to huge taxes, while the un-assessed premises and the illegal business establishme- nts are enjoying the free services of the municipality.

“The citizens have even filed a PIL before the HC in 2017, but it is still pending in court,” said Coutinho, who also impressed upon Hawaldar that the government has to work out a modality for the revision of rent for the Municipal-owned premises.

“The lessees and the illegally sublet Municipal premises get rental as low as Rs 25 to Rs 100, while the actual rent earned by subletting the premises runs to Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000.