MMC’s wheels of progress yet to pick up pace
On May 5, the Margao Municipal Council headed by Dr Babita Angle Prabhudesai will
Ask Margao Municipal Council (MMC) chairperson Dr Babita Angle Prabhudesai on her achievements during her six-month stint in office and don’t be surprised to hear from the city-based doctor that she is still trying to put the systems in place in the A Class municipality and streamline waste management. Indeed, after knocking the doors of the government, the municipality has got a full-time Account and Administrative Officer and an Accounts and Taxation Officer, besides an Officer on Special Duty, but the civic body is yet to get a full-time Chief Officer.
That’s not all. The government is yet to appoint a full-time Recovery Officer to head the Revenue Recovery Cell. In the absence of a full-time Recovery Officer, plans to recover the huge outstanding arrears pegged at over `10 crore has hit a big block.
On the garbage front, the civic body has been literally struggling to put the system in place. While the foundation stone for the landfill site at Sonsodo was laid after the new body took over the reigns of office, work on the project is yet to take off. Babita says work on the landfill site may start any time now. On the question of door-to-door waste collection, the municipality isn’t clear how to go about outsourcing the door-to-door waste collection despite resolutions to that effect. Take note, the civic body has taken over the responsibility of collecting waste door-to-door at a cost of `10 lakh a month. The municipality, however, is yet to engage an agency or take up departmentally the job of collecting the exact data on the number of households and business establishments located in the commercial capital. Bio-mining of the existing Sonsodo dump yard is yet to take off till date. While Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) has opened the tenders, doubts are being raised in certain quarters over the execution of the project with MMC virtually expressing its inability to provide the ground support in terms of a landfill site and to cart away the soil/mud generated during the bio-mining process.
It’s now six months since the new body assumed office on November 5 last, but the civic body has not yet tendered a single developmental work in any of the 25 civic wards. When the MMC chairperson was asked to shed light on the situation, she disclosed that the technical section has prepared estimates of the developmental works and the file would be forwarded to the office of Director of Municipal Administration (DMA) for approval and funds. “Preparing estimates of the works in the 25 municipal wards has consumed a lot of time. We will soon approach the DMA for approval and funds,” Babita said.
“The new body has made a sincere beginning on almost all fronts, but our efforts hit a block in the absence of a system. We have got the concerned officials only recently. I am confident that the appointment of a Recovery Officer will help expedite the recoveries,” Babita said.
Besides, she pointed out that efforts to tone up sanitation will get a fillip with the government sanctioning Rs 1.5 crore under Swachh Bharat mission and that the traffic islands will all be spruced up by the corporates under the Corporate Social Responsibility.
On the agenda of the body for the next six months, Babita pointed out that revenue building and recovery will be accorded top priority, while efforts will continue to resolve and streamline waste
management.
