MARGAO
The old market fair further enriched the coffers of the Margao Municipal Council on Friday, taking the revenue collected by the Civic body so far to around Rs 29 lakh.
The revenue has gone up in the last 24 hours as the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) is believed to have paid fees to the civic body late Thursday.
If a civic official is to be believed, the PDA has reportedly paid around Rs four-odd lakh to the municipality.
Civic officials did not rule out the possibility of the revenue from the old market fair further going up during the weekend.
“Right now, our revenue from the fair has gone up to around Rs 29-odd lakh. The SGPDA paid the civic body around Rs 4-odd lakh on Thursday. We have also brought new vendors operating in the fair under the tax net,” a civic official informed.
The official pointed out that the SGPDA has agreed to pay the fees to the civic body after the MMC dashed off a letter to the PDA demanding the list of vendors operating on the SGPDA ground, including the giant wheel and amusement park.
Questions were raised about whether the municipality would levy fees on the vendors and hawkers doing business on the SGPDA ground. During the Purumentachem fest held in June last, the SGPDA had paid over Rs five lakh to the MMC as licence fees for the use of the ground to set up the fair.
Day two of the old market fair saw the occasional traffic snarls due to the ongoing sewerage works. Sources said the traffic police and the MMC will face an acid test during the weekend, on Saturday and Sunday since the police is expected to be preoccupied with the ISL match at the Nehru stadium and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mopa on Sunday.
