the goan I network
MARGAO
The public health department’s circular insisting on trade licence for any wholesale fish trader to trade in fish at Goa’s lone fish market has literally brought the South Goa Planning and Development Authority and the Margao Municipal Council under scanner over the conduct of wholesale fish trade in the PDA’s wholesale market.
That the wholesale fish trade was being carried out all these years in the PDA’s wholesale fish market came to light with neither the SGPDA nor the MMC conceding that no trade license or permission was ever obtained by any of the traders to carry on the wholesale fish trade.
Days after the Margao Municipal Council maintained that the civic body had not issued any trade license to the wholesale fish traders till date, the SGPDA has now clarified that no such permission or license was ever issued to the wholesale fish traders.
SGPDA Member Secretary Ashok Kumar told The Goan that the PDA could not decide on the applications made by the wholesale fish traders for NOCs for the simple reason that the planning body had no idea how to go about the issue. In fact, the SGPDA Member Secretary pointed out that the applications made by the wholesale fish traders will be placed before the meeting of the authority for a decision.
“The SGPDA will soon have its meeting and the applications made by the wholesale fish traders will be placed before the authority for a decision,” he said.
Incidentally, the MMC also said the council will discuss the applications made by the wholesale fish market traders at its next meeting tentatively scheduled on November 9, only bringing to the fore the moot question how the wholesale fish trade was allowed to be carried out in the government-owned wholesale fish market by these statutory authorities for a decade and half now.
This question assumes significance given the fact that no trade or business can be carried out in the jurisdiction of MMC, which is the licensing authority.
Incidentally, commenting on the trade licence, the wholesale fish traders have maintained that the SGPDA cannot leave them in the lurch for the simple reason that they have been paying the sopo (occupation fees) to the PDA for occupying the wholesale fish market.
