MARGAO
Concerns have arisen within the Margao Municipal building and beyond due to a surge in applications from residents of the migrant-populated area of Moti Dongor, the stronghold of former Congress-turned-BJP Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, seeking house numbers for their dwellings.
The civic body has received over 190 applications from Moti Dongor, with Chief Officer Gaurish Sankwalkar reportedly approving around 70 of them.
Sankwalkar defended the decision to assign house numbers to the slum areas of Moti Dongor, citing adherence to a 2022 circular issued by the Director of Municipal Administration. According to him, the house numbers are strictly for the purpose of imposing house tax and sanitation fees on the illegal structures. "My office has acted in accordance with the 2022 DMA circular. Assigning house numbers does not confer legal status on the illegal houses," Sankhwalkar clarified.
He further explained, "These illegal houses have been availing civic amenities without paying any house tax or sanitation tax for years. We have strictly followed the 2022 DMA circular. Most other municipal councils have assigned house numbers to illegal houses and generated revenue."
Acknowledging that around 70 dwelling units in Moti Dongor have been assigned house numbers, Sankwalkar noted that his office has received over 190 applications from the area.
However, the MMC's actions have raised eyebrows both within the civic body and in the public sphere, particularly given the proximity to the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in April.
Moreover, questions have been raised regarding the MMC's authority to assign house numbers, especially in light of a demolition order issued by the South Goa Administrator of Commnidades for all structures on Comunidade land, which is currently pending before the High Court.
This move gains further significance against the backdrop of former Congress MLA Digambar Kamat's announcement in 2022, after leaving the Congress party, to regularize illegal structures and rehabilitate inhabitants in Moti Dongor.
What the DMA order states
The 2022 circular issued by the Director of Municipal Administration, Gurudas Pilarnekar, stipulates that levying house tax on a dwelling does not confer any legal entitlement to the inhabitant.
The circular specifies that merely collecting property tax by the Municipal Councils for illegal constructions or structures does not grant legal status or regularization. It further asserts that such illegal structures will remain illegal for all practical purposes.
It mandates that for the purpose of levy of all such taxes and recovery, it is required that all the municipal councils shall assess these illegal/irregular structures constructed till February 6, 2018 for all taxes and its recovery.
