MARGAO
Margao Municipal employees finally received their salaries for the month of October on Thursday, but the delay in the salary payment has thrown up the oft-repeated question “ why is the Margao Municipality often found struggling to foot the salary bill when the civic coffers ought to have been flush with funds given that the Municipality has jurisdiction over the commercial capital?
Margao civic chief Damu Shirodkar has pushed the buck at the doorsteps of the Municipal administration headed by Chief Officer Gaurish Sankhwalkar for the lapses in revenue recoveries, but the bigger question remains unanswered “ what has failed the civic body in exploiting the untapped resources which could have enriched the civic coffers by several crores of rupees annually?
Margao Municipal Council’s salary bill is pegged around Rs 1.80 crore. Add another Rs 40 lakh, the wage bill of the daily wage workers and the total monthly salary and wage bill works out to Rs 2.20 crore.
This isn’t the first time the MMC has been caught on the wrong foot over its failure to make the timely salary payments, only bringing to the fore the same old unanswered questions over the apathy and lack of will to tap the revenue sources.
Consider this. The city, dubbed as the State’s commercial capital, plays host to thousands of shops and business establishments. One comes across thousands of adverting boards at every nook and corner of the city. The city is ever expanding with residential buildings as evident by the new constructions mushrooming around the city. The city also plays host to illegal constructions, which are not assessed for house tax, but the question remains unanswered “ what has prevented the civic body from tapping resources by way of trade licenses and advertising fees from the commercial establishments and house tax from the households?
That’s not all. The Margao Municipality owns properties, including the New market and the Gandhi market, which has the potential of enriching the civic coffers by crores of rupees.
