DoP official says nobody has come forward to challenge the panchayat decision to charge the tax
POSTCARD PICTURE: Tourists flock to the picturesque Parra road to capture the breathtaking view of the place.
The scenic Parra road is back in the news but for reasons not so good.
The infamous photography tax which was withdrawn by the village panchayat two years ago has made a comeback albeit in a new avatar: garbage/entertainment tax.
Tourists flocking to the area are charged a whopping amount of Rs 1,000 as garbage/entertainment tax by the village panchayat which has even hired the services of a youth to collect the fee.
According to Parra panchayat, only those who are involved in video shooting are charged as people engaged in shoots come with a big entourage and create a lot of garbage and traffic chaos in the area.
However, Jack Fernandes, a local, told The Goan that the person employed by the panchayat to collect the tax has been fleecing the tourists.
“The panchayat is continuing to loot the tourists. The person who is employed by the panchayat besides collecting fees from the tourists is also doing illegal business in the area. He has hired some persons who do photography and videography for the tourists for a price. This has only added to the chaos on the road,” Fernandes said.
The 1-km long road lined with palm trees and overlooking fields on either side offers a picturesque view to the visitors. The road features in several Bollywood flicks and also figures on major travel websites as a must visit place in Goa.
On the flip side, the rush of tourists along the road also causes a lot of problems to the locals who use the road to commute on a daily basis. Traffic jams have become the order of the day. Sometimes those involved in shooting engagements block the road for hours, much to the consternation of villagers.
Parra Sarpanch, Chandanan (Chandu) Harmalkar informed that the panchayat was forced to charge the tourists to bring some order and sanity on the road which is flooded with tourists on a daily basis.
“The tourists who visit the place park their vehicles on the road and thereby block access of local villagers. We’ve employed a person to collect fees. Only those who are on shooting assignments are charged garbage tax. The panchayat has a right to charge garbage tax because we’re maintaining that road,” he said.
Incidentally, the panchayat had started charging fees for photography along the road two years back but after facing flak over the issue, then sarpanch Delilah Lobo had withdrawn the tax.
Consumer activist, Roland Martins said there appears to be a total lack of accountability in the collection of the amount as garbage tax.
“Even if the panchayat has to collect a tax, then it has to issue a proper receipt where in the counter foil having the name and address of the person is recorded,” said Martins.
He also said that there were certain slabs while charging any tax.
“The village panchayat has to discuss the issue in its fortnightly meeting, take a resolution and then get approval from the BDO. The resolution must state how the tax will be collected and accounted for in the account books of the panchayat,” he said.
A senior official at the Directorate of Panchayat informed that the village panchayat cannot charge such a tax.
“So far, no one has challenged the panchayat decision before the authority. If someone complains and challenges the decision, then we can look into the matter,” the official said.
