MARGAO
Attempt by the Aquem Baixo village Panchayat to hike the house tax rates came in for strong opposition from the gram sabha members, forcing the Panchayat to beat a retreat and settle for a rate decided by the members.
The house tax hike dominated the gram sabha meeting chaired by Sarpanch Floriano Danny Ferandes after agitated gram Sabha members led by Siddesh Bhagat, Julio Quadros and others raised an uproar over what they termed as a steep hike in the house tax rates.
Both Siddesh and Julio slammed the panchayat body for the proposal to hike the house rate from the existing Rs 4 for square metre to Rs 40 per metre, saying the people of Aquem Baixo will be overburdened with the steep rates.
In fact, other gram sabha members also joined in the discussions, opposing the move tooth and nail, finally forcing the Sarpanch to bow down to the sentiments of the members and settle for Rs eight per square metre.
The members, however, demanded that old roof tile houses, besides old houses belonging to the scheduled tribe community should be exempted from the new house tax rates.
Meanwhile, the gram sabha gave its approval to the Panchayat to appoint a contractor for the collection of both dry and wet waste from the village.
The Sarpanch later informed the media that Navelim MLA Ulhas Tuemkar has extended his support to the Aquem Baixo Panchayat to resolve the garbage problem facing the village. He said the Panchayat has recently decided to appoint a contractor to collect both wet and dry waste and the same has been approved by the gram sabha.
