In an interesting development, the South Goa Planning and Development Authority and Margao Municipal Council on Thursday decided to impose a moratorium on issuing permissions for sales and exhibitions in the city between May and September till a policy is put in place to regulate the business activity.
At the SGPDA meeting presided over by Chairman Mauvin Godinho and attended by MLAs Vijai Sardesai and Digambar Kamat, besides MMC Chairperson Babita Angle and councillors and a delegation of the Margao New Market traders, it was agreed to permit only those sales and exhibitions in the city for which approvals were granted by the PDA till April end. From May to September, neither the PDA nor the MMC will give any permissions for the sales unless a system and proper guidelines are put in place to regulate the activity. The traders led by Vinod Shirodkar have been told to submit a list of consumer items, including grocery items, which should not be allowed at the sales and exhibitions in the future.
After the meeting, Godinho told The Goan the PDA has taken the decision to put a moratorium on sales and exhibitions till September following complaints that the activity has adversely affected the business of local traders.
“The SGPDA used to earn revenue from these sales and exhibitions, but we have decided that the activity cannot continue at the cost of the local traders,” he said. Godinho, however, said that auto and electronic exhibitions, besides handicrafts will be beyond the ambit of the decision.
Margao MLA Digambar Kamat said that no new permission on sales will be issued till the PDA comes out with a policy on the activity, while his Fatorda counterpart Vijai Sardesai said the PDA and the traders will discuss on the finalization of broad policy guidelines to regulate the sales.
The meeting also iron out all outstanding issues between the SGPDA and MMC on money matters, including payment of garbage fees by the PDA and the fees required to be paid by the civic body to availing the PDA ground.
