Council also seals prominent bank for not paying dues
VASCO
In a rare and attention-grabbing initiative, the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) on Thursday launched a ‘Gandhigiri’-style drive to recover long-pending dues from commercial establishments across Vasco.
The delegation also sealed multiple establishments — including a prominent bank in the heart of Vasco — after repeated reminders yielded no response.
MMC Chairperson Girish Borker and Chief Officer Siddhivinayak Naik personally visited several establishments, offered roses as gentle reminders, and urged them to clear outstanding payments.
The recovery team, which covered a range of businesses including banks, informed owners of their pending dues while handing out roses as symbolic appeals. However, officials said sealing was unavoidable for those who continued to ignore repeated notices and refused to comply.
MMC Chief Officer Siddhivinayak Naik said the method had proven highly effective in the past. “I had tried this technique earlier when I was the Chief Officer of Margao Municipal Council, and it worked wonders. A Rs 50 investment in roses had helped us recover nearly Rs 50 lakh,” he said.
“We have now adopted the same approach in MMC. People who owe dues will first receive a rose, but if they still don’t respond, we may have to show them the thorns. Our message is simple — these establishments must pay amounts already brought to their notice. If they fail, we will take stringent action and seal their premises. We are not against anyone’s business, but dues must be paid.”
MMC Chairperson Girish Borker said the council had been pursuing these payments for nearly two years.
“We are tired of following up repeatedly. Many establishments took us for granted and assumed MMC would never take action,” he said.
“The country is changing, and the municipality is changing too. Unlike earlier days, we are now taking strong decisions and firm action. We offered roses and bills as reminders in a unique manner, but when that failed, we had to show the thorns. Today, we sealed a prominent bank for not paying dues.”
Borker stressed that unpaid dues severely impact the council’s ability to function.
“We are not against business, but establishments must pay what they owe. If they don’t pay for years, how are we supposed to pay staff salaries? We have fuel expenses, garbage collection costs, and many other liabilities. These dues help us run the municipality,” he said.
“This unique technique has shown positive results, but if people still ignore us, we will take immediate action and seal their establishments without further notice.”
