Govt promises action on traders’ demands by June 1
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, along with Urban Development Minister Vishwajit Rane (not in pic) and PWD Minister Digambar Kamat, meets Mapusa merchants to address their pending demands on Tuesday evening.
MAPUSA
In a significant development for traders in Mapusa, the Mapusa Merchants Association (MMA) secured key assurances from Chief Minister Pramod Sawant during a meeting held on Tuesday evening, even as an internal shake-up within the traders body unfolded hours earlier.
At the meeting, held at the Chief Minister’s official residence in Altinho, Panaji, Sawant directed officials to resolve all long-pending issues concerning traders by June 1.
These include the annulment of arrears, renewal of expired leases, transfer of shop tenancies within blood relations, and streamlining the collection of rent. The Chief Minister also indicated that necessary amendments to the Goa Municipalities Act, 1968 would be undertaken to address structural concerns raised by the trading community.
Senior ministers, including Vishwajit Rane and Digambar Kamat, were present at the meeting, along with representatives of the All Goa Merchants Federation.
However, the outcome of the meeting came against the backdrop of a dramatic leadership change within the MMA earlier in the day.
In an internal meeting of office-bearers, incumbent president Jeetendra Falari was removed from his post, despite his term being due to end only next year. He was replaced by Anish Joshi, who has taken over as ad hoc president.
Falari, who is also associated with the recently formed civic platform Together for Mapusa – a group that has taken positions often critical of local MLA Joshua D’Souza – said he had refused to resign when asked, maintaining that he had committed no wrongdoing.
“I have not done anything wrong. But since I did not have the majority, I was removed. If all our demands are met, then it is fine for me. I have no regrets,” Falari said.
Notably, he was still part of the delegation that met the Chief Minister later in the evening.
The sequence of events points to a pragmatic, if uneasy, alignment within the traders’ body – where internal differences were set aside to present a united front before the government.
The leadership change, however, also hints at underlying political and strategic recalibrations within the MMA, particularly in the context of emerging civic voices and their engagement with local governance.
With a firm June 1 deadline now in place, the focus shifts to implementation. For Mapusa’s traders, the government’s response over the coming weeks will determine whether long-standing grievances translate into tangible relief or remain mired in procedural delays.
