Battle over Margao sanitation fees reaches HC

the goan I network
MARGAO

The Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court has issued noticed on the Margao Municipal Council, the Chief Secretary as well as the Director of Municipal Administration on a petition
filed by citizens represented by J P Savio Coutinho, Hemant D Kavlekar, Chandraprakash T Jaggi, Pio Kevin Baretto and Domnick Savio Coutinho.
The petitioners have prayed to the Court to declare the public notice levying sanitation fees as unconstitutional, ultra virus and violation of Article 265 of the Constitution of India and to direct the civic body to immediately carry out assessment of various households, commercial premises falling within the Margao Municipal Council, who are assessable for house tax, trade and occupation licenses and sanitation fees.
The petitioners have further prayed that the Court issue directions to the DMA to conduct urgent inquiry to assess the loss caused by the exchequer by non-assessment and deliberately excluding premises/households/commercial establishments from house tax/sanitation fees in legal as well as illegal structures and to ascertain the loss caused to the public exchequer.
Coutinho told the media that the citizens of Margao along with the Shadow Council for Margao have been raising the issue of discrimination by the imposition of exorbitant sanitation fees on legally assessed premises while on the other hand ignoring the illegal unassessed premises, who are also waste generators, but happen to be vote banks of politicians. The Loyal Tax Payers have also been complaining over the fact that the Council is collecting sanitation fees without actually rendering the service.
The petitioners have charged that there are no genuine intentions on the part of the Council to collect sanitation fees uniformly from legal and illegal structures, drawing attention of the Court that it is the job of the Municipality under the Goa Municipalities Act to assess the property for house tax and sanitation fees.