Margao council yet to act on collector’s directives for encroachment removal

Margao: The failure of the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) to act against illegal encroachments near power house Margao, has now prompted intervention from the state’s department of urban development.Deputy director, Department of Urban Development, Nadia Shekoli, issued a directive to the MMC's chief officer, demanding urgent action against unauthorized stalls obstructing the premises of the electricity department in Aquem. The letter, dated May 22, gives the MMC just three days to comply.The current case is the latest among the number of failures of the MMC in removing illegal encroachments, ignoring directives from the authorities. Several months after receiving explicit directives from the South Goa district administration, the MMC failed to take concrete action against encroachments and unauthorised vendors operating in busy areas of the town, a review of official communications reveals.On Jan 22, 2025, deputy collector and district revenue officer (DRO), Avelina D’Sa e Pereira, issued a formal notice to the MMC’s chief officer demanding “strict action” against illegal vendors, particularly those operating near the KTC bus stand.

The notice specifically mentioned bhelpuri vendors causing “noise and congestion” in the area.The Jan directive was the second such order in recent months, following an earlier communication dated Aug 29, 2024, when then deputy collector Premraj Shirodkar instructed the MMC to “remove all hawkers/food carts, unauthorised establishments in the Fatorda area, with immediate effect”.Both orders pointed to violations of the Bombay high court’s direction in writ petition 148 of 1997, which mandates keeping public spaces free of encroachments.

“It was noticed that MMC has not granted approvals for these stalls, yet numerous vendors continue to operate illegally,” the Jan notice stated.Despite these repeated orders and the explicit mention of court violations, the unauthorised vendors continue to flourish across Margao’s busiest areas.“We do initiate action against illegal handcarts encroaching on public spaces, but they soon resurface after some time,” a senior MMC official said.