Plans by the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) to put its e-rickshaws back on the roads for cleaning the city’s pavements and footpaths appear to have hit a dead end, with both vehicles remaining grounded nearly four years after they were inaugurated with much fanfare.
The two e-rickshaws, purchased by the civic body in 2022 at a cost of around Rs 8 lakh, were projected as an important step towards keeping Margao’s pavements and footpaths clean. However, four years on, neither vehicle has fulfilled the purpose for which it was purchased.
Of the two vehicles, one is reportedly lying unused and rusting at the Margao Municipal Council garage at the Old Market, while the other is stationed at Sonsodo. Both have remained off the roads, effectively rendering the expenditure on their purchase futile. The e-rickshaws were inaugurated on Independence Day in August 2022. However, the initiative ran into trouble within days when one of the vehicles reportedly developed a technical snag. This raised questions over the manner in which the civic body had procured the vehicles.
The procurement itself came under scrutiny after it emerged that the MMC had purchased the vehicles without inviting tenders. The issue triggered criticism both within and outside the civic body, with questions being raised over the haste with which the decision was taken.
Following the uproar, municipal officials reportedly contacted the supplier and asked for the vehicles to be repaired. However, the supplier allegedly failed to turn up at the Margao Municipal Council office, leaving civic authorities and elected representatives struggling to get the vehicles back into operation.
The matter became more serious when it emerged that the Council had not obtained a performance guarantee from the supplier. In its absence, the civic body was left with little recourse when the vehicles developed problems and the supplier failed to respond to requests for repairs.
The procurement has consequently raised questions over accountability and the use of public funds. While the two vehicles cost the civic body around Rs 8 lakh, the objective of mechanising the cleaning of Margao’s pavements and footpaths remains unfulfilled.
Significantly, despite the questions surrounding the procurement process and the subsequent failure of the vehicles, those responsible for the purchase have apparently escaped accountability. Neither the politicians nor the municipal officials involved in the procurement have, so far, faced any apparent consequences for the expenditure on vehicles that have remained largely unusable.
The Goan understands that the civic body recently instructed its Mechanical Engineer to explore the possibility of getting the two e-rickshaws back on the roads. However, sources said a report submitted by the concerned department indicated that the vehicles are beyond repair, with some required spare parts reportedly no longer available in the market.
If the assessment is correct, the MMC could now be left with two unusable vehicles after spending around Rs 8 lakh on an initiative intended to improve the cleanliness of the city’s pavements and footpaths.
What was launched in 2022 as a promising initiative to address Margao’s long-standing cleanliness concerns has, four years later, turned into a case of two e-rickshaws lying idle while the city continues to grapple with dirty and encroached pavements and footpaths.
