the goan I network
MARGAO
High drama unfolded in the Margao Municipal Council on Tuesday after Margao Gandhi market vendors led by Rajendra Ajgaonkar, brother of Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar laid a siege on the office of Margao Municipal Council Chief Officer Sidhivinayak Naik for around two hours after office hours, demanding that the Chief Officer issue NOC for electricity connection for the market vendors.
The Chief Officer accused the Gandhi market vendors for holding him hostage for two hours. He also accused the Secretary of the Gandhi Market Vendors Association, Ashraf Pandiyal for restraining him from leaving his office and instigating the vendors against him.
While the vendors barged into the Chief Officer’s chamber at around 5.40 pm, when the office was about to close for the day, the siege was lifted two hours later at around 7.40 pm after the Director of Municipal Administration, Tariq Thomas requested the vendors over the phone to submit the evidence, if any, that the Chief Officer had in the past issued NOC for electrical connections.
While the vendors demanded that they will ask for the suspension of the Chief Officer, claiming they have evidence that the Chief Officer had issued as many as five NOCs during his stint in office, the Chief Officer vehemently denied having issued any NOC, going to the extent of saying that he would order an inquiry and revoke the NOCs, if any, issued by him.
That the Chief Officer stood firm in his resolve became clear that he told Tourism Minister Babu Ajgaonkar as well as the DMA over the phone that he cannot issue any NOC for power connection based on a resolution taken way back in 2001. He went on to tell the vendors that he would go by the Goa Municipalities Act, saying the Act is his Bhagavad Gita, Bible and Koran and will not take any decision which is in violation of the Municipalities Act.
Trouble began in the morning when the vendors led by Rajendra Ajgaonkar took a morcha to the MMC and later gheraoed the Chairperson Babita Prabhudesai over the issue of NOCs for electrical connections for the Gandhi market vendors. Ajgaonkar claimed that the Chief Officer is not issuing the NOCs when a Council resolution dated 2001 has empowered the officer to issue NOCs for the electrical connections.
The vendors returned back to the market after Babita assured them that their issue will be placed before the DMA for an appropriate decision.
The vendors, however, returned back to the Council when the Municipality was about to close for the day, to question the Chief Officer as they accused him for misguiding them by saying his office has not issued any NOCs for electrical connection.
They claimed that the Chief Officer has indeed issued around 5-6 NOCs for the vendors for electrical connection and demanded that the office issue the NOCs to the remaining vendors. In fact, they produced one such NOC signed by the Chief Officer before the media to justify their claim, adding that they will place the NOCs before the DMA to initiate action against the Chief Officer.
