Staff Reporter
Mapusa
Frustrated with long delays and alleged inefficiency at the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC), a delegation from the Mapusa Merchants Association (MMA) on Monday met the Director of the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA), seeking immediate intervention to resolve a range of pending issues affecting local traders.
The delegation, led by MMA President Jitendra Falari and Secretary Siddesh Raut, submitted a memorandum on concerns such as delays in the renewal and transfer of lease agreements, trade licence renewals, and retrospective sanitation charges.
Falari said that the renewal of lease agreements has been pending for an unreasonably long time, despite traders having submitted all required documentation. “There are over 400 files pending with Mapusa Municipality. This delay has caused unnecessary harassment to our traders and reflects the inefficiency of the municipal administration,” he said.
The traders urged the DMA to instruct MMC to expedite the lease renewal process, at least for applicants who have submitted complete documentation. They also proposed increasing the lease period from three years to 10 years to reduce the frequency of renewals.
Raising the issue of transfer of lease within families, Raut said around 300 files are pending. “Exorbitant transfer fees and rent arrears are being collected from merchants for no fault of theirs. This process must be streamlined and fast-tracked,” he said.
The MMA also flagged delays in trade licence renewals, which they said were once processed over the counter but now, take significantly longer due to procedural bottlenecks. “We demand that MMC reintroduce the earlier system of counter-based renewals to ease the burden on traders,” Raut said.
Another major grievance raised was the retrospective imposition of sanitation charges. “The MMC is now levying sanitation fees retrospectively from 2021 along with trade licence renewal fees, despite merchants having paid garbage tax with their annual house tax. This is unfair and puts an additional financial burden on traders,” the association said in its memorandum.
