PANAJI
The Corporation of The City of Panjim is mulling to take benefit of the one-time settlement scheme (OTS) for payment of municipal market's pending electricity dues of around Rs 7 odd crore.
The CCP has asked the assistant engineer of the electricity department to work out the amount due and a suitable payment instalment amount which can be feasible for the CCP.
"The work out plan from the JE will be placed before the CCP council meeting and decision will be taken looking at the financial feasibility," informed CCP Mayor Uday Madkaikar.
He said that more than Rs 7 crore payment is pending towards electricity dues of the municipal market.
The Mayor informed that CCP gets a monthly electricity bill of around 35,000. The bills are not paid since 2003 and it has accumulated to Rs 7 crore. Also, 20 per cent interest which comes to Rs 14 lakh adds on to the pending amount regularly.
Meanwhile, the Mayor said that the revenue income of CCP has reduced to half due to the slowdown or closure of economic activities in COVID times.
"Since March many hotels have been shut and people have left the operation of shops," the Mayor said.
He said that CCP has not received around Rs 1 crore revenue which the municipal body use to get usually from stalls in various exhibitions in the city.
"With the Panjim feast and Ashtami exhibitions (ferries), the CCP would get a revenue of around Rs 30 lakh. From one exhibition CCP used to get Rs 7 lakh revenue," the Mayor informed.
He said that the CCP has to spend around Rs 1 crore towards the salary of the CCP workers.
