MARGAO
Motorists and residents may see red over the shopping malls mushrooming in the commercial capital with traffic snarls along the city roads being the order of the day. Citizens may throw a question or two to the local Municipal and planning authorities seeking to know whether the buildings housing these shopping malls conform to the laid down parking norms or whether the parking norms need modification in tune with the changing requirements.
A feel good factor, however, prevails in the corridors of the Margao Municipal Council on the revenue front with malls setting up shop in the city. Just two malls - Vishal Mega Mart and Pantaloon - located in the north and south of the city has raised the prospects of enriching the municipal coffers by a whopping Rs 38 lakh, inclusive of the house tax/rent, trade licence and sanitation fees.
And, if Municipal officials are to be believed, a couple of similar malls in the city would help the civic body to pay one-month salary of the Municipal employees.
Take the case of Vishal Mega Mart, which has opened shop at Aquem on the eve of Diwali. While the travelling public and nearby residents are still to come to terms with the parking arrangements, the MMC appears sitting pretty. Vishal mart alone is expected to boost the civic revenue by around Rs 22.79 crore by way of house tax/rent annually.
Questions are doing the rounds in the Municipal corridors whether the civic body has ensured that the mall adhere to the parking requirements, a civic official produced an affidavit sworn in by Vishal mart stores manager, giving an undertaking to take care of parking requirements.
A glance at the affidavit shows that the stores manager has promised to engage a security agency for the stores to control the parking of clients visiting the store. The stores manager further undertook to ensure there will not be any traffic congestion around the store, saying the store has sufficient space to take care of parking.
The story of Pantaloon is no different as the leading fashion retail house has set up shop in the Osia Commercial building in the SGPDA complex. The MMC will be richer by Rs 14.76 lakh annually by way of house tax/rent.
Former Margao Municipal Council Chairperson and Convenor of Shadow Council Savio Coutinho says the rules pertaining to parking provision in the commercial complexes in the city needs a drastic review. "As per the present planning rules, the number of mandatory parking slots is much less than the number of commercial/residential units in any complex. Even the five-metre front setback for commercial complexes is normally consumed by the passages/steps/ramps in front of the shops," he said.
In the instant case vis-à-vis the Vishal Mega retail mart, Coutinho claimed that the original plans were approved for individual shops and offices. "When the approval for revision into a Mall/ Mart was being considered, it was necessary for the authorities to review the parking requirements," he added.
The claims of the MMC with regards to Rs 21 lakh annual revenue does not justify the hardships faced by the innocent public, more specifically the local residents. "If the Council is really serious in mopping up revenue, than they should start issuing trade licence to all the illegal commercial establishments, and I can assure that the revenue the council will earn will be more than Rs 2-3 crore annually, after the revision of house tax as per the lease rentals," he asserted.
