Thursday 28 Mar 2024

Display of banners: Caught on the wrong, Vijai pays fees, fines

THE GOAN NETWORK | JANUARY 19, 2016, 12:00 AM IST

Photo Credits: MLA Vijai Sardesai and his group of Councilors

Photo caption:

MLA Vijai Sardesai and his group of councillors in the chamber of Chairperson Babita Angle volunteering to pay the fees on banners. Santosh Mirajkar

MARGAO

Caught on the wrong foot for displaying New Year banners without municipal permission, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai and his group of Fatorda Forward councillors made their appearance in the Margao Municipal Council on Monday morning and volunteered to pay fees and even fines as per the rules in force.

The Fatrorda MLA later told the media that he and his councillors have decided to lead by example as the Fatorda Forward panel had in the 2015 municipal poll promised to tone up the revenue recoveries and mop up additional revenue if elected to power. By evening, the office of the Fatorda MLA paid fees to the tune of Rs 2,600 to the civic body as banner fees.

Sardesai along with his councillors descended at the chamber of the Margao Municipal Council Chairperson Babita Angle Prabhudesai and expressed their willingness to pay the fees for displaying banners and if required the fines too. The chairperson called up the Chief Officer Sidhivinayak Naik and officials manning the taxation section and told them to set in motion the process to compute the fees for displaying the banners in Fatorda constituency.

The MLA, chairperson and the chief officer, however, agreed on the need to urgently put in place a system wherein all banners put up across the city are brought under the municipal tax net. For, they all realised that though a large number of banners came up during the festive season, neither the taxation section nor the municipal inspectors could exactly dish out the number of banners put by the Fatorda Forward panel. “We thought that we should set an example. It will not suit us if we don’t pay the fees. I am an MLA and we all felt that we should pay first before going after others. Our election agenda was to go after the revenue collection and we all decided to set an example first," he said, adding that the chief officer and civic officials will now plan to comb the municipal area for illegal banners.

MMC Chairperson Babita Angle sought to defend the failure of the civic body to tax the City Fathers for displaying the banners, blaming the previous administration for failing to revise the rates and to collect revenue.

When Babita sought to point out that certain people are trying to malign the civic body, Vijai said those who claimed to be shadow council are exceeding their brief, adding that those who had also lost the municipal poll had also put up huge banners in Fatorda.

Meanwhile, MMC market inspectors went about tearing down banners and illegal signboards on Monday morning. The drive is expected to continue in the next few days.

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