the goan I network
MAPUSA
Due to a poor tourism season, the Calangute panchayat decided not to increase tax and burden the hoteliers and others businesses along the popular coastal belt.
“Since this tourism season is not very good and business has been dull we found it appropriate not to increase tax,” announced Francisco Rodrigues, sarpanch of Calangute at Sunday’s gram sabha.
Normally, the panchayat increased all types of taxes “ house tax, trade, garbage, signboard, etc “ by 10 percent each year.
The panchayat, however, decided to hike monetary assistance offered to the underprivileged in the village from Rs 300 to Rs 500 per month.
The decision to increase the amount was at the request of gram sabha member Anthony D’Souza, who is also the president of Calangute comunidade.
The Calangute panchayat supports around 200 such needy people in the coastal belt and therefore will have to bear the burden of Rs 1 lakh per month for this initiative.
Calangute panchayat is considered one of the richest panchayats in terms of revenue generation in the State.
The gram sabha also approved the budget for the 2020-21 financial year after incorporating some suggestions made by the locals.
Raising questions on certain figures incorporated in the budget, gram sabha member, Anthony D’Souza wondered where the revenue from scrap was going.
“We understand that the panchayat earns almost Rs 5 lakh revenue from scrap.
Has this revenue been taken into account? There appears to be a scam in the budget proposals,” D’Souza said and further asked about income generated through parking fees.
The sarpanch informed that panchayat was collecting Rs 5 lakh as parking fees from three places “ Gauravaddo, Baga and Tito’s
lane.
Some gram sabha members informed the sarpanch that garbage was dumped at several open places which was creating nuisance.
A local Kundan Kerkar said waste was found continuously dumped at Calangute Tinto while another local disclosed that people living in illegal houses dumped garbage at Cobra-vaddo.
The sarpanch assured that garbage was lifted on time. He also proposed to appoint security guards at all the black spots identified in
the village.
