MARGAO
Hazard a guess on the fate of the much-hyped Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) surveillance cameras which the Margao civic body had promised to install in the Municipal building to bring the erring employees under the scanner?
For an answer, visit the Margao Municipal building and you may come across the Big Brother in a sleep mode, with a couple of old CCTV cameras, in a section or two, lying defunct over the years for want of maintenance while the new set of CCTV cameras is yet to see the light of the day.
Indeed, grandiose plans by the Margao Municipal Chief Officer Lyndon Pereira to bring the civic Babus and employees under the CCTV scanner have failed to take off on May 1 “ the deadline set by the administration to install and operate the surveillance cameras.
Inquiries by The Goan have brought out conflicting findings. Caught on the wrong foot, Chairperson Pereira maintained that the CCTV cameras could not become a reality, attributing the delay to the tendering process. Inquiries at the MMC technical section, however, revealed that no CCTV tender is in the offing, even as a senior engineer feigned ignorance over the proposal.
Incidentally, Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes pointed out he would find out from the Municipal technical section about the fate of the CCTV surveillance cameras.
Chairperson Lyndon told The Goan on Tuesday that he had mooted the CCTV proposal intending to discipline the staff, who report late for work and leave office before office time.
“I will check with the technical section on the status of the tender which was scheduled to be floated by the civic body”, Lyndon said.
Over a decade ago, the Margao Municipal sections were brought under the scanner of the CCTV cameras in a bid to check the employees' attendance. After spending huge funds on the cameras, the concept, however, failed to bring the desired result for the simple reason that the Babus did not set up a mechanism to monitor the movement of the employees.
In fact, despite the cameras in place, employees were still found on their seats and more often than not, they went unpunished, for the reason no official was designated to maintain the movement of the office staff.
“What we had observed around a decade ago was that while the CCTV cameras were in place, the employees were not found on their seats. But, they went unpunished since the civic body did not set up a mechanism to monitor the employees' movements through a dedicated official”, remarked a senior MMC official.
Will chairperson's chamber come under CCTV scanner?
MARGAO:
Will the chamber of the Margao Municipal Chairperson be brought under the scanner of the Big Brother as and when the proposed CCTV cameras see the light of the day?
This question assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of a bitter past controversy after an IAS officer, who was then presiding as the Margao Municipal Chief Officer, had charged that the office of the MMC Chairperson is the only section that has not been brought under the CCTV scanner.
And, the then Chief Officer had made a startling charge that the Chairperson’s chamber has not been brought under the CCTV scanner since it is the hotbed of corruption in the civic body.
When the incumbent MMC Chairperson Lyndon Pereira was questioned whether he would also bring his office under the CCTV scanner, the Chairperson replied with a quick no.
What’s interesting to note is that while the Chairperson firmly ruled out the possibility of bringing his office under CCTV, he said he would be monitoring the cameras and the movement of the employees from his office.
