MARGAO
The Goa Municipalities Act clearly provides that every meeting of the Council shall be open to the public unless the presiding authority considers that any inquiry or deliberations pending before the Council should be held in private.
And, the Act empowers the Presiding Authority to cause any person to be removed who interrupts the proceedings.
Welcome to the Cuncolim Municipal Council, where the presiding authority, the Municipal Chairperson Polita Carneiro has stirred a hornet’s nest as she has prohibited entry for “outside people” at the meeting hall, apparently due to disturbances during the previous meetings.
In fact, a glance at the meeting notice states that the presiding authority has clearly named the persons and the authorities, who will be allowed entry into the meeting hall at the Council ordinary meeting scheduled on April 5 at 10.30 am.
The notices state that no person will be allowed inside the chamber of the Chairperson (meeting room) except journalists with valid identity proof, police personnel, members of the NGO and the staff of the CMC with valid I-cards. “Due to disturbance in the previous meetings of Council, outside people are prohibited: by order “ Presiding Authority”, the meeting notice stated.
When The Goan called up Chief Officer Shankar Gaonkar to shed light on the note contained in the meeting notice, prohibiting entry for outside people, he feigned ignorance on the note, saying the notice of the meeting and the agenda is finalised by the Municipal chairperson.
While the Presiding Authority has allowed entry for journalists, but with valid identity proof, questions are being raised whether mofussil correspondents will be allowed entry at the meeting hall, more so when many of them have no identity proofs.
Sources in the know said the Goa Municipalities Act makes it categorically clear that every meeting of the Council shall be open for the public, only giving the power to the Municipal chairperson, who is the Presiding Authority, to remove any person from the meeting if found interrupting the proceedings.
Chairperson Polita, when contacted by The Goan to explain her decision to prohibit outside people at the meeting, said she has just mentioned the note in the meeting notice given the past experience.
“During the last 2-3 meetings, we had seen some people creating disturbances even in the presence of police personnel. I am not against people attending the Council meeting, but certain people seemed hell bent in creating disturbances and putting hurdles in deliberation on the meeting agenda. That’s the reason, I have put the note prohibiting outside people from entering the meeting hall,” Polita said.
