IMC found issuing street vendor license to non-Manipuri
Collects regular tax from 54 unauthorized shops in Temporary market
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, July 24 2012:
Although Imphal Municipality Council (IMC) is not authorized to provide license to street vendors, a Non-Manipuri was found holding a street vendor license issued by IMC.
The non-Manipuri has been identified as one Ram Das Shanker of Barhanganj Gorakhpur, Utter Pradesh but presently staying at Majorkhul.
His license number is 6 .
It is said that Ram Das he has been paying regular tax to IMC since 1981.Initially he used to pay 25 paisa per day.
However, from January 2010 till December 2011, he paid an annual tax of Rs 2712 to IMC.
It may be mentioned that license to street vendors cannot be given no one other the street vendors of the three Ima Keithels.
Even the street vendors of the three Ima Keithels are being chased away like stray dogs on the ground that their presence makes the market place dirty, cause traffic congestion and inconvenience to pedestrians in Imphal city.
Under such situations, posers have been raised over granting of street vendor license to a non-Manipuri from UP and providing space to other non-Manipuris in front of Bheirodan High School in Dharmashala for selling fruits and vegetables as well as over legalizing licenses provided by the then Imphal Municipal Board by IMC.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that IMC illegally provided space to around 54 shops in the Temporary market, which was constructed for the vendors of Ima market, during the process of its construction.
Moreover, some officials of IMC have been collecting taxes on daily basis from these unauthorized shops.
The shopkeepers are even given cash memo for the taxes collected.
Sources revealed that the taxes thus collected from these unauthorized shops by these officials are not handed over IMC but end up in their own pockets.
Apart from collecting regular taxes, the IMC officials also take huge amounts of rupees from these shopkeepers.
The stall numbers of the unauthorized shops in the temporary market are 7 (A), &(B), & (C), & (D), Block II, 6 (A), 6 (B), 5 (A), 5 (B), 5 (C), 4 (A), 4 (B), 4 (C), 4 (D), 3 (A), 3 (B), 3 (C), 3 (D), 2 (A), 2 (B), 2 (C), 2 (D), 1 (A) and 1(B).It was found that a plot meant for a single shop is divided into two shops in the name of different individual/ association.
These unauthorized shops are not provided license as it was prohibited by an order of the then Commissioner of MAHUD, added the source.