MAPUSA
Diwali celebrations came early for Mapusa’s trading community as the merchants’ long-pending grievances found a positive hearing during a meeting with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at the Secretariat.
Members of the Mapusa Merchants Association (MMA) came away upbeat, claiming that several of their major demands had been accepted.
On the contentious issue of the transfer and renewal of lease agreements with the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC), MMA secretary Siddesh Raut said the chief minister assured them that the same “ease of doing business” policy applied to trade licences would now extend to lease renewals.
“As per the CM’s directions, if an application for a licence or renewal is filed, it has to be cleared or objections raised within 24 hours, failing which it will be deemed approved. The same principle will now govern lease renewal applications,” Raut explained.
Most lease agreements were last renewed in 2015 and expired in 2018, leaving merchants in limbo for years. The MMC’s insistence on retrospective arrears as a precondition for renewal had sparked strong opposition from traders. “The CM has set aside the demand for arrears, ruling it unfair and illegal. There will be no arrears charged,” Raut said.
On the rental structure, merchants proposed continuing the existing rates with an annual 5 per cent hike, as was the practice earlier. The chief minister, Raut confirmed, accepted this formula.
Another long-standing demand – to simplify the process of transferring leased premises among family members – was also addressed.
Until now, lessees were required to produce either Inventory Proceedings or a Deed of Succession from court, a cumbersome procedure that often dragged on for months.
“The CM has agreed to streamline the process and, importantly, accepted our request to recognise married daughters as blood relations for the purpose of lease transfer. The DMA pointed out that this would require an amendment to the Act, to which the CM assured that the necessary changes would be made,” Raut said.
Further, it was decided that trade licence renewals would not require a council resolution, with powers delegated to the Chief Officer (CO) to process them directly.
Merchants, however, expressed cautious optimism, recalling that in June the chief minister had issued a series of similar directions during a visit to the Mapusa Municipal Council, many of which remain unimplemented.
Present at the meeting were Mapusa MLA Joshua D’Souza, MMC Chairperson Priya Mishal, Vice-Chairperson Prakash Bhivshet, DMA Brijesh Manerkar and other officials. Representing the trading community were the MMA executive committee and All Goa Merchants Association President Narayan Karekar.
