MAPUSA
With revenue generating projects in the pipeline and several municipal properties lying idle, the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) has enough scope to generate revenue but lack of imagination and resolve to mop up resources has literally brought it to its knees.
The civic body has never been serious to focus on recoveries by way of house tax and other outstanding dues.
Failure to auction stalls that have been completed in the market has deprived the council of much needed revenue.
Two floors opposite the taxi-stand and another floor near the fish market were constructed several years back but have not been auctioned and remained idle for reasons best known to the council.
The commercial project opposite the taxi-stand has ground plus two floors. The ground floor comprising of 80 shops with an area of 8 sq mt each has been auctioned and put to use nearly six years back.
Surprisingly, the first floor which has 40 shops with an area of 16 sq mt each and the second floor having three large units have still not been auctioned.
The project was constructed by the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) and handed over to the municipality.
Sources informed that during the handing over process the municipality had raised certain objections about the project and GSUDA was asked to comply with those observations.
Subsequently, GSUDA carried out the desired changes but the municipality just dilly-dallied in auctioning the shops.
Similarly, the shops on the second floor above the gram stalls, near the fish market have also been completed several years back but the municipality has failed to auction the same.
“If these stalls/shops are auctioned then it can fetch substantial revenue to the council. The council has to take it up. On one hand we say there is a resource crunch and on the other hand the sources which are there to raise revenue are not exploited,” said Sandip Falari, former chairperson of Mapusa.
Secondly, the Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) owes the Mapusa municipality over Rs 1 crore by way of house tax and other licence fees. There are two industrial estates in the Mapusa municipal area.
The GIDC which offers a single-window clearance to entrepreneurs who set up units in the industrial estate collect licence and house tax from these units.
“The IDC has to collect the licence and other charges from the industrial units and deposit it with the municipality which they are not doing,” the former chairperson revealed.
Similarly, the BSNL has failed to pay road cutting fees to the civic body for the last almost 15 years.
The commercial project at the old municipal garage site and plans to construct another near the old mamlatdar office are revenue generating projects which can easily shore up the civic body’s finances.
