MARGAO
The Shadow Council for Margao on Friday confronted Margao Municipal Council Chairperson Lyndon Pereira, accusing him of causing loss of revenue to the Council by following political orders.
Led by SCM Convener Savio Coutinho, several applicants seeking permission for display of temporary banners confronted the Chairperson in his chamber, demanding to know why he (Chairperson) had given instructions to the MMC staff not to accept any applications and payments for the display of temporary banners.
Caught on the wrong foot, the Chairperson tried to defend his action by stating that the District Collector has issued orders. Coutinho, however, stated that the District Collector has not issued any orders whatsoever, restricting the Council from issuing permissions.
“The District Collector’s orders are crystal clear and very specific, with directions only for removal of unauthorised political banners in government property,” Coutinho clarified.
Adv Seoula Vas charged that the Chairperson was not following any official orders from the Collector, but unofficial directions from his political bosses. “The Chairperson on one hand claims that he has not received the Collector’s order yet; than how he could imagine something false being part of the order?”, Adv Seoula questioned.
Another applicant Lincoln Vaz complained that when he comes to the Council to apply for permission, the officials say that they are instructed not to accept applications from political parties, and subsequently the Council removes their banners causing huge losses financially.
Coutinho charged that the unauthorised actions of the Chairperson has resulted in the council losing a revenue of over Rs 1,50,000.
