MARGAO
Demanding that the Margao Municipal Council come clear on the pending trade licence of Pantaloon showroom at the Osia Commercial Complex, the Shadow Council of Margao has further demanded that TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai, (the mentor of this Council) order a probe into the one-year delay in issuing the trade licence to the Pantaloon showroom.
Addressing the media, SCM convenor Savio Coutinho said the delay by the civic body to issue the trade licence to Pantaloon has deprived the Council the much needed revenue of over Rs 13 lakh. “We demand that the Council recovers the over Rs 13 lakh due from the establishment being the fees and revised tax of last year along with a like amount for the current period,” Coutinho thundered.
He cautioned MMC Chief Officer Siddhivinayak Naik saying “however sincere the efforts of the chief officer may be, but it will be prudent for Naik to realise that the Council could well have a hidden agenda of their own.”
He said RTI information obtained last year had pointed out that over 80 per cent of trades in the city are without the requisite licence. “The SCM a year back had pointed out with proof through RTI information that only 62 out of nearly a thousand establishments in Osia complex had trade licence and only 12 out of nearly 200 establishments in Rangavi complex had trade licence,” he said.
Incidentally, when the media demanded to know from him how come during his tenure as Municipal Chairperson too that establishments did not pay the mandatory trade licence, Coutinho shot back saying that he had organised a drive to get the establishments pay the trade licence.
He, however, suggested that the Council should set up a dedicated cell only to issue trade licences and that too with a specified time frame to rule out corruption.
SCM member Laurel Abranches recollected, that the council had some months back hyped the implementation of the central outward registry system. “A sincere inquiry by the TCP Minister will well make him understand why the applications don’t get processed to reach the outward registration point,” Abranches stated.
CP Jaggi, John Gonsalves, Seby Noronha, Radha Kavlekar, Savio Coutinho, Pio Barretto also attended the press conference.
