Civic chief differs, raises bogey of ghost households and establishments in computer data
Margao Municipal building.
MARGAO
Guess the outstanding tax arrears staring at the Margao Municipal Council – the A Class Municipal body having its jurisdiction over the Commercial capital of Goa?
Some officials say it could be a staggering Rs 50-odd crore, while others pegged the arrears at Rs 43 crore. Indeed, the whopping tax arrears has come to haunt the City Fathers and the Municipal Babus as the civic body is struggling to mop up the outstanding tax recoveries and tap new sources of revenue by bringing unlicensed business establishments under the tax net.
While civic officials have pegged the total outstanding tax arrears to Rs 50-odd crore, with some even quoting an amount of Rs 43 crore, Margao civic chief Damu Shirodkar, however, has begged to differ on the pending tax recoveries. That’s not all. Damu went a step further to point out that the Municipality has put up an impressive performance on the tax recovery front in the current financial year.
If the MMC Chairperson is to be believed, the Municipality has effected around Rs 15.40 crore revenue recovery in the first three months of the current financial year in respect of House tax, garbage fees and trade licence fees. In fact, Shirodkar has said the revenue recovery effected by the Margao civic body in the first three months of the current financial suggest a 24 per cent increase in the recoveries compared to the corresponding figure last year.
While disputing the tax arrears amount, the Margao Civic chief has also raised the bogey of ghost households and establishments in the computer-generated data. In fact, Shirodkar has underscored the need to delete the non-existent households and business establishments from the computerised data to give an exact and clear picture of the tax revenue arrears. “The tax arrears will come down by at least Rs 10-20 crore in the event the non-existent households and business establishments are cleared of from the tax data”, he added.
Notwithstanding the contention of the Margao civic chief, the outstanding tax arrears has indeed come to haunt the officials, raising questions over the efforts put in by the Municipal staff in effecting the recoveries.
No Recovery Officer to
supervise tax recovery (subhead)
The Margao Municipal Council has no recovery officer for the moment to lead the team of officials to effect the revenue recoveries. Sources said the post of Recovery Officer has been lying vacant for some time now after the expiry of contract of the incumbent officer.
Inquiries have revealed that the Margao Municipal Council has moved the file to the government to re-appoint the Recovery Officer on contract basis, but the file is yet to receive the official nod till date. Sources in the know, however, pointed out that appointment of a Recovery Officer by itself will not automatically ensure recoveries, insisting the Recovery Officer should have a set target to achieve every month.
MMC Chief Damu Shirodkar said the file moved by the civic body has already reached the government, exuding confidence that the file will get a clearance at the earliest.
Actual revenue still
eludes civic body
Hundreds, if not thousands of business establishments are operating in the Margao Municipal area, denying potential revenue to the civic body running into crores to rupees. To plug the revenue leakage, the government had appointed an agency to conduct the Geographic Information Survey (GIS) in the Margao Municipal area to bring all households and business establishments under the tax net. Sadly, the GIS survey is dragging on for the last several months in the commercial capital. If MMC officials are to be believed, the agency has completed the GIS survey only in the Municipal-owned markets, the New Market and the Gandhi Market and most part of the area comprising of the the heart of the commercial capital.
However, the GIS survey is yet to bring the unlicensed commercial business establishments and residential households dotting the Municipal area in the 25 wards. Sources said the government has extended the time for the agency conducting the survey to cap the exercise by August this year.
Incidentally, a GIS survey conducted by an agency roped in by the Margao Municipal Council over half-a-decade ago is still gathering dust in the record books of the civic body.
