Goa, July 5 -- Intensifying its criticism of the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) over the steep hike in trade and signboard license fees, the Shadow Council for Margao (SCM) on Friday slammed the Council for failing to recover over Rs 1.44 crore in rent dues from premises leased out in the New Market and Gandhi Market.

SCM Convener Savio Coutinho, joined by Lincoln Gomes, Anwar Naroo, Aneil Alvares, Sujata Parsekar, Damodar Onskar and Camilo Camara, presented RTI documents to the media showing the extent of the unpaid dues and accused the Council of targeting small traders instead of recovering rightful revenue from its own properties.

Coutinho said the Council's inability to collect long-pending dues had led to an unfair situation where...