MAPUSA
With an aim to address various issues plaguing the town and to keep a watch on the functioning of the newly elected Mapusa Municipal Council, some active citizens have come together to form a Shadow Council for Mapusa.
Most citizens feel that Mapusa has failed to live up to the expectations of the residents and therefore active participation of the locals in the civic affairs was the need of the hour.
Some concerned voters opined that the concept of ‘Shadow Council’ will act as a pressure group against any anti-people decisions that the elected representatives may take.
“We have a new crop of councillors who have recently taken over the reins of the council. The residents of Mapusa expect them to do good work for the betterment of the town. Our interest to form the Shadow Council for Mapusa is to keep track of the development works to be undertaken by the civic body and keep a watch on any wrong step taken by the council,” said Sanjay Barde, one of the two convenors of the NGO.
The Shadow Council for Mapusa has been formed under the convenorship of Sanjay Barde and Sudesh Tivrekar and Siddhi Kaushal Naik and Fausto D’Souza as secretaries.
The following have been appointed as advisors: Jawaharlal Shetye, Shridhar Naik, Prakash Shinde, Manohar Gadekar, Balkrishna Pangam, Abhay Samant and Nandu Nagvekar.
Convenor, Sudesh Tivrekar said that the shadow council will not only raise a voice against anti-people decisions but also offer suggestions to the civic body for the good of the town.
“Whatever work the council takes up should be in the interest of Mapshekars. If the council takes a decision that is against the public then we will be first to point it out,” Tivrekar said.
He said a lot of councillors have good intentions but due to political compulsions at times they cannot speak out openly.
“The concept of Shadow Council will help in keeping pressure on the ruling council and also work for the welfare of the people in general,” he said.
He further said that almost everyone has accepted that Mapusa has been left far behind in terms of development and time has come to shift gears.
Living in an ecosystem where public participation in civic affairs is rare, the active citizens of Mapusa held two rounds of meetings to discuss the concept of the shadow council and to make people aware and get them involved in the civic matter.
“We have noticed people generally complain when things go wrong but fail to stand up and fight for their basic rights which is constitutionally due to them. We had to literally plead with people to come and join in the concept of the ‘Shadow Council’,” Barde informed The Goan.
