MARGAO
An Amendment to the Goa Municipalities passed by the Goa Legislative Assembly in July last and assented to by the Governor in September now faces an acid test as the ruling BJP has set its eyes to dislodge the lone Congress-controlled Municipal body in the State, the Cuncolim Municipal Council.
For, the Amendment passed by the Goa Legislative Assembly on 21 July, 2022 and assented to by the Governor on September 6, 2022 had substituted the expression “not less than one-third”, with the word “majority”, clearly indicating that the no-trust motion should have the signatures of majority of the councillors to dislodge a Municipal chairperson.
In the instant case, seven Cuncolim Municipal councillors, including five BJP-backed councillors have initiated a no-trust motion against the Cuncolim Municipal Chairperson Laxman Naik.
While the notice of the no-trust motion has been entered into the office of the Director of Municipal Administration (DMA) with a plea to call for a special meeting to discuss the motion, questions are being raised about whether the notice of no-trust motion fulfills the test, with the Amendment laying down the criteria that the notice should have the signatures of majority councillors.
Given that the Cuncolim Municipal Council is a 14-member body, questions are raised about whether the seven signatures will be enough to convene the special meeting to discuss the motion or whether the authorities will insist on eight clear signatories to move the motion.
The opposition BJP group has claimed in private that the effective strength of the Cuncolim Municipal Council has come down to 13 numbers, with a ruling councillor reportedly heading abroad for employment purpose. Even assuming that the ruling councillor has proceeded for employment abroad, as claimed by the Opposition group, officials in the know, however, pointed out till the prescribed authority notifies a vacancy for whatever reason, whether by disqualification or resignation, one has to consider that all the 14 councillors are members of the civic body.
Given the situation, the focus has shifted to the Director of Municipal Administration, Gurudas Pilarnekar. For, the question of convening the meeting of the Cuncolim Municipal Council to discuss the no-trust motion now rests with the office of the Municipal Director. “A glance at the notice submitted by the opposition Cuncolim Municipal councillors showed it has been signed by seven councillors. Will seven councillors constitute majority councillors in a 14-member civic body, or will eight members constitute the majority are questions that need to be decided by the Municipal Director,” sources pointed out.
