Vendors forced to pay hefty charges to contractor sans receipts
Vendors from as far as Pernem and Bicholim turned up at Mapusa market on Tuesday to sell traditional Matoli items.
MAPUSA
In a brazen defiance of government instructions, the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) has continued to collect market fees from Matoli vendors ahead of Chaturthi celebrations, despite a clear order from the State directing civic bodies not to levy “any kind” of charges on the sale of traditional festival items.
Vendors were forced to cough up steep charges, raising serious suspicions of corruption and a possible contractor–politician nexus operating within the civic body.
Under the CM’s order, conveyed through the Urban Development Department, municipalities were barred from levying “any kind” of charges on Matoli vendors during the Ganesh Chaturthi season.
Yet, in Mapusa, the reality has been starkly different.
Hefty charges
without receipts
Several vendors said they were compelled to pay ₹100 per day without receipts, far above the official Sopo rate of ₹30.
Some like Sushma, a vendor from Corjuem, claimed they had to pay as much as ₹280 although she would engage in a single day’s business.
“It’s all Golmaal in the municipality. We do this business for our survival, even then we are harassed unnecessarily. I don’t believe they will ever return my money despite the CM’s instructions,” Sushma said, clearly disillusioned.
Another vendor, Shanta Vaigankar from Varkhand, confirmed that the MMC’s Sopo contractor continued to collect inflated sums while deliberately withholding receipts.
“On normal Fridays, we are charged ₹30 with receipts. For the last three days, they forced us to pay ₹100, but no receipts were given. This is nothing but harassment,” she said.
Council’s excuse:
‘garbage tax’
In what many residents describe as a brazen attempt to cover up wrongdoing, MMC market committee chairman Sainath Raul justified the illegal collections, claiming the fees were not Sopo charges but “garbage tax.”
The explanation has been widely ridiculed as nothing more than a smokescreen. A market observer pointed out: “If this is garbage tax, why is it being charged only from Matoli vendors during Chaturthi? This is an organised scam.”
Political complicity
suspected
What has raised eyebrows further is the council’s flat refusal to refund the money despite being directly instructed by the Director of Urban Development. The silence of MMC Chairperson Priya Mishal – who refused to respond to repeated calls – has only deepened suspicion of political complicity.
Advocate Mahesh Rane, a resident of Mapusa, slammed the civic body’s defiance: “It looks like the CM’s instructions carry no weight. Despite clear directions, the BJP-ruled municipality has continued to harass small vendors. This suggests there’s more than negligence at play – there is complicity.”
The controversy has once again spotlighted how civic contractors, often backed by powerful politicians, operate with impunity.
For vendors who depend on Chaturthi sales for survival, MMC’s actions not only amount to extortion but also expose the hollowness of government assurances.
At the core of the issue lies a glaring question: If even the Chief Minister’s directive is openly defied by a BJP-controlled municipality, who really calls the shots in Mapusa – elected representatives, or the contractors who appear to operate above the law?
