MARGAO
The move has raised many an eyebrow since the civic body has kicked off the exercise without accurate data on the number of residential houses and business establishments dotting the city. In fact, the Shadow Council of Margao has demanded that the council immediately withdraw the public notice notifying the garbage fees and immediately undertake data collection and have a fair and uniform taxation system for all waste generators in the city.
While residential houses and flats will be required to pay a flat tax of Rs 50 per month, the civic body has imposed sanitation fees of Rs 5,000 per month on large party halls. Small halls will escape with a monthly fee of Rs 2,500 per month.
Air-conditioned restaurants and hotels, besides AC bars and restaurants and hotels, lodging/boarding and hotels and restaurants with lodging and boarding above 75 rooms will be required to pay a monthly sanitation fee of Rs 4,500.
Banks, cinema hall, wholesale fruit godowns, petrol pumps, spas, besides small bars and restaurants have also been brought under the sanitation fee net. These category of business establishments have been imposed a sanitation fee of Rs 1,000 per month.
While Margao Municipal Chairperson Babita Angle Prabhudesai maintained that the sanitation fees will come into force with immediate effect and to be paid along with house tax, the Shadow Council of Margao has raised strong reservation on the decision.
Condemning the move, Shadow Council criticized the council for the U-turn taken on the issue. Savio Coutinho pointed out that MMC Chairperson had declared to the Media on January 12, 2016 that data collection would be undertaken first. He said the move to go ahead and burden only the loyal tax payers on one hand and favour the unassessed premises (specially the vote banks on the Monte hill and other such areas) is indeed a shame on the council that was given a mandate to work in the interest of the people of Margao. “Time and again we have been demanding that the council should undertake data collection of the various premises in the city. The data collection is essential in order that the council knows beforehand how much revenue can be expected as sanitation fees from the various types of waste generators in the city. Absence of proper data will only leave a huge scope for corruption, which probably this council prefers,” Coutinho added.
Referring to the publication of notice by the MMC on the sanitation fees, the Shadow Council pointed out that the council has no record of the various commercial establishments operating in the city as per the list published in the media. “As such the over 70% of commercial establishments operating in the city will not pay any sanitation fees to the council. So also the over 10,000 unassessed residential premises will enjoy the bonus at the cost of loyal house tax payers,” he said, while criticizing the role of the MLAs of Margao and Fatorda for pushing this proposal to burden the loyal house tax payers while favouring their vote banks at the cost of genuine tax payers.
The SCM further appealed to the general public having premises assessed for house tax/trade tax to come out and register their objections to the unbiased move of the council to charge sanitation fees.
