CCP seeks time to pay market's electricity dues

PANAJI: Citing lack of funds, the

Corporation of the City of Panaji

(CCP) on Wednesday sought time from the electricity department to pay the dues of the municipal market complex. The CCP has decided to link the payment of the due to the collection of rent arrears from the tenants occupying the ma rket's premises.


During the council meeting on Wednesday, corporators objected to paying the first instalment of Rs 1 crore through SOPO and house tax collected following which CCP commissioner Sanjit

Rodrigues

told the corporators that the settling of the electricity department's arrears would be linked to recovery of dues from the market's vendors.

"To collect the rent arrears from the market's tenants we will first have to sign agreements with them," Rodrigues said.

Rodrigues said the initial Rs 1 crore towards the dues couldn't be paid to the electricity department as it doesn't have the capacity to meet the electricity department's requirement of paying the additional instalments towards the Rs 5 crore bill every fifteen days.

Questioned as to why the CCP was taking so long to sign the agreements with the Market Tenant's Association, Rodrigues told the corporators that the tenants are yet to give their response on the agreements, despite the 15-day deadline given to them lapsing.

Former mayor Surendra Furtado told the Rodrigues that for the last five years the tenants have they not responded on the issue.

The CCP will prepare a legal action plan should tenants not take a decision on signing the agreements by November 11, commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues said.