MARGAO
Fresh deadlines on old issues marked Town and Country Planning (TCP) Minister Vijai Sardesai’s second visit to the Margao Municipal Council on Tuesday as he once again expressed his unhappiness over the functioning of the civic body, conceding that it has been found wanting in the timely delivery of services to the common man.
If the TCP Minister during his previous visit around 10 months ago had issue strict instructions to the Team Babita to scrap the Rs seven crore multi-level parking tender, Sardesai on Tuesday strongly rooted for the revival of the tender, setting a deadline to the contractor to complete the parking project by Goa Statehood Day on May 30, 2019.
The TCP Minister also directed the MMC babus and Chairperson to engage contract workers to clear the backlog of pending applications for trade, house tax and transfer of house tax. He set deadline of one month to the Accounts and Taxation
officer to clear the backlog within one month’s time from Ganesh Chathurti or face transfer.
“We have decided to revive the multi-level parking project on the single ground that it may take ages for the project to see light of the day if the process is started afresh. I have set May 30, 2019, as the date for the inauguration of the project at the hands of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar,” Sardesai told the media after consultations with the contractor.
Admitting that things are not rosy on the administrative front in the civic body, the TCP Minister expressed his ire saying that people are suffering because of endless delays.
He got the Accounts and Taxation officer, Abhay Rane, to find out the problems behind the delays. When the ATO replied saying his department has been hit by manpower shortage, Sardesai told the CO Sidhivinayak Naik and Chairperson Babita Prabhudesai to put up a note for additional manpower, promising to get the sanction from DMA to engage 10 contract workers.
Taking cognizance of the fact that many a file has been stuck up in the civic body for want of legal opinion, the TCP Minister has told the Chairperson and the Chief Officer to appoint a full-fledged legal officer who is available in the civic body throughout the day.
“We need the civic body to take quick decisions. Many a time, decisions are not forthcoming because of legal opinion. This issue can be resolved if the MMC appoints a full-fledged lawyer in the civic body,” he added.
What’s interesting to note is that the TCP Minister sent a message loud and clear that he means business, as he disclosed plans to visit the civic body every month to review the decisions.
Incidentally, the TCP Minister made light of the absence of Margao MLA Digmabar Kamat during his visit, and parried a question whether he had sent out an invite to him.
