MARGAO
Decks have been cleared for Margao Civic Alliance (MCA) to once again preside over the reigns of the Margao Municipal Council. Having given both Digambar and Vijai clear mandate to rule the city, Madgavkars and Fatordekars must be anxiously looking forward to new Chairperson Lyndon Pereira and alliance leaders to help resolve a host of perennial issues plaguing the city
Work on the bio-remediation of the Sonsodo legacy dump is progressing as per schedule. The civic body, however, seemed to have run out of ideas how to address the burning issue of waste collection and disposal. The waste treatment plant is virtually down in the dumps. The new chairperson and the newly-elected councilors have a task cut out for handling the waste collection and disposal problem. The last council had pushed a proposal for the waste disposal via bio-methanation. The proposal, however, ended in a bitter row over the project cost and whether bio-methanation technology was an answer to city’s waste problem.
PARKING
Foundation stone for the multi-level parking project was laid in 2015, but the work on it is yet to begin. The commercial capital has been craving for attention to the parking woes for years now, but in vain. Against this backdrop, the new chairperson and the alliance leaders should set a time-frame to tender the parking project and get the project completed within a deadline. Even if the civic body starts work on the project this year, it will take nothing less than two years to complete the multi-level parking lot.
STRAY DOGS
It has been months since Margao municipality’s agreement with South Goa Welfare Trust for Animals (SGWTA) lapsed. Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes has left the decision to the new council on the sensitive issue. The previous council headed by Dr Babita Angle had enhanced funds for the animal welfare NGO to Rs 70,000 per month. This is one issue where the new chairperson and the council will be required to monitor closely in view of the rising population of stray dogs in the city and claims that the civic body has not been prompt in paying dues to the NGO for Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme.
MUNICIPAL ADMIN
The new chairperson has a task to tone up the administration and make it citizen-friendly. Against the backdrop of official files going missing in the civic body, the new chairperson has a responsibility to introduce file tracking system in the municipality. The CCTC cameras, which were installed with much fanfare around a decade ago, have been defunct for want of maintenance. Why successive chairpersons and councils failed to activate the CCTC cameras and make the administration responsible remains unclear.
REVENUE MOBILISATION
Will the new chairperson plug the revenue leakage on various heads, including trade tax, advertisements, etc? The previous council had roped in an agency to compile the list of business establishments operating in the city. The report compiled by the agency is gathering dust, with revenue leakage being the order of the day. Rough estimates say hundreds, if not thousands of establishments are operating in the commercial capital sans the mandatory trade license and advertising fees.
