MAPUSA
The ruling BJP-backed Mapusa Municipal Council was forced to eat a humble pie after at least one proposal to increase tax which was put to vote was defeated while most of the key proposals to increase taxes and fees including trade licence fee and house tax had to be deferred as both the ruling and opposition councillors joined forces to slam the move to hike taxes.
The council was also forced to untouch the rate for income/residence and other miscellaneous certificates and charges for NOC for water and electricity connection.
Although some inconsequential tax hike proposals were passed, it was done only after reducing the rate below the proposed hike.
The only saving grace was introduction of professional tax @Rs 5,000 for the first time in the history of Mapusa and hiking the rate for indoor entertainment @2,000 per show.
Amidst the onslaught of the opposition and the ruling councillors, Mapusa Chairperson Priya Mishal and her second in command, Viraj Phadke were struggling to implement the tax hike proposals.
After having to defer two proposals one after the other on hiking trade licence fees, the chairperson decided to put the third proposal of increasing the rate on “provisional NOC” to vote.
When she asked all councillors who favoured the proposal to raise their hands, Mishal was horrified to find only two ruling councillors raising their hands that too half-heartedly defeating the vote.
Incidentally, the special meeting to discuss the proposal of increasing taxes and fees got off on a wrong note after a councillor of the ruling group gave the Mapusa Chairperson Priya Mishal an earful for her decision to increase taxes and burdening the business class in Mapusa.
“Several good restaurants have shut shop because there is no business. There are no plans to improve the infrastructure. Several revenue generating projects like developing of the Alankar theatre area are stuck. The shops above the Aram soda are complete but not auctioned for last several years. This hike in tax will only finish the small businessmen,” said Ashirwad Korjuvenkar, a BJP councillor.
He said a well-known restaurant owner like Café Bhosle preferred to start a restaurant in Porvorim but not in Mapusa, which indicates how the business class was looking towards Mapusa.
Continuing with his tirade, he said there was absolutely no control over the municipal staff.
“The municipal inspectors (MI) were taking it very easy. Instead of collecting the pending dues of 100 establishments, the MIs collected the monies of only 10 units. They collected the dues only to fulfil their staff salary quota for the period without bothering about the civic body and nobody had a control on them,” said Khorjuvekar, who is also the market committee chairman.
Khorjuvenkar was seconded by ruling councillor Sainath Raul.
Former chairperson from the ruling side Shubhangi Vaigankar also slammed the move to increase taxes.
“Why are you putting the people in trouble? Find other avenues to generate revenue. Collect pending dues, auction all pending shops, carry out assessment,” Vaigankar opined.
Opposition councillors led by Shashank Narvekar and Anand Bhaidkar were at their vociferous best to rip apart the irrational and unjustified move to hike tax and burden the common man.
