VASCO
Pandemonium prevailed at the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) meeting on Tuesday morning after the ammonia file went missing and could not be traced.
The council had convened its budget meeting and one point on the agenda was to adopt a resolution banning the transportation of ammonia through city limits, following the ammonia leakage from a tanker at Chicalim.
The meeting turned chaotic when ward councillor Kritesh Gaonkar requested the file be shown to ascertain the terms and conditions given to Zuari Agro Chemicals by the council, before a resolution could be adopted.
It was an embarrassing moment for the MMC as the file could not be traced, despite the entire staff searching for the file in all sections.
Chairperson Deepak Naik then requested councilors to adopt a resolution and check the file details after the council meeting was over, many councillors said that they were sure the file was not there.
Councillor Nandadeep Raut demanded that the action be taken immediately, instead of only adopting resolution.
Several councillors then walked out abruptly in protest and boycotted the council meeting and demanded that adopting resolution without having the file in physical form on the table was useless.
“This is a mockery. If a point is put on the agenda of the meeting, then the file should be on the table. We have boycotted the meeting and till the file is not found, we will not attend any meetings nor adopt any resolution,” said Gaonkar.
Another councillor Leo Rodrigues sought to know how the MMC chairperson had issued a letter to MPT and other departments without even looking in the file.
Councillor Daji Krishna Salkar demanded the file missing incident be probed by vigilance department
“During my tenure as MPDA chairman, I was the first to seal the premises of Ganesh Benzoplast considering the safety of the public. We can adopt similar measures for the storage tanks as well,” added Salkar.
