the goan I network
MAPUSA
A former councillor’s husband and an aide of a former chairperson and present councillor own moving handcarts in Mapusa, clearly indicating nepotism and conflict of interest while issuing licences by the Mapusa Municipal Council.
Ramesh Manerkar, husband of former councillor Chitra Manerkar, has got a handcart with licence no T/O/5365, while Yogesh Khedekar, a close associate of former chairperson and councillor, Rohan Kavlekar, also owns a handcart with licence no T/O/5379, information obtained under the RTI Act has revealed.
Incidentally, both the named individuals don’t man the handcarts.
The council, however, has no information when the licences for the handcarts were issued to the owners.
Sources informed that issuing of licences to handcarts were frozen by the council three years back and after the present council took over in November 2015, no licences were issued for movable handcarts in the city.
Censuring the nepotism that has been going on in the civic body, Pravin Asolkar of the ‘Youth of Mapusa’ said councillors were looking only after the interest of their kith and kin.
“These influential persons who got handcarts registered in their names do not operate them. This shows that the handcarts must have been sublet to some migrants,” Asolkar said.
“The nepotism in allotment of handcarts is just a tip of the iceberg. At every step, the councillors want to know how they will stand to benefit. Nobody cares about the public,” he added.
Although most of the 180-odd licences for moving handcarts in the jurisdiction of the municipality have been issued to residents from Mapusa, quite a few have also been given to persons residing in neighbouring villages of Guirim and Verla-Canca.
Gaurish Keni, another member of the Youth of Mapusa, opined that first preference should be given to people of Mapusa to start a business in the city.
“Instead of giving top priority to residents of Mapusa, the council is considering applications of people from other villages. We need to give first preference for the residents of Mapusa,” Keni emphasised.
