MARGAO
Just imagine a situation where the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) inked with a city-based NGO engaged to implement the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme for stray dogs in the city had expired exactly a year ago and no new agreement is in place for the last 12 months.
That’s not all. The NGO itself hasn’t been paid for around 16 months since April 2020, leaving animal lovers to fend for themselves, to borrow funds from friends and well wishers just to keep the ABC programme afloat in the city.
Indeed, Margao Municipal Council’s apathy and indifference has left the High Court-mandated Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme in the lurch in the commercial capital for want of support from the civic body.
Otherwise, consider this: The MoU between the Margao Municipal Council and the South Goa Welfare Trust for Animals (SGWTA) had expired on December 30, 2020. In the fitness of things, the MoU ought to have been renewed with SGWTA or a new NGO needed to be roped in to carry forward the ABC programme.
The MMC administration was not quick in either renewing the existing MoU or inking a new agreement on the understanding that the elected municipal body will take a call how to go about the matter after the municipal polls. Take note, the MMC got a new Council headed by Chairperson Lyndon Pereira, backed by the Margao Civic Alliance floated by Opposition leader Digambar Kamat and Vijai Sardesai in May last, but the stray dogs issue seemed to have still not featured on the priority list of the new Council.
The issue did figure at the first meeting of the newly-elected Council held on July 9, which had not only agreed to clear the pending payments due to the NGO, running into lakhs of rupees, but to ink a new agreement at the earliest.
Five months down the line, the ground reality, remains unchanged. The NGO has not received any payments since April 2020. And, though SGWTA has claimed to have carried out the ABC programme in the city out of love for animals and taking into account the rising dog population, questions have been raised in the corridors of the civic body whether the NGO is eligible to claim the payments for want of a MoU.
The Goan understands that after the July 9 meeting, the Council had invited another NGO to give a presentation how to go about the ABC programme in the city. Till date, no one knows the outcome of the powerpoint presentation.
The Municipal sanitary section says the ABC programme is now being monitored by the engineers attached to the technical section. And, while the July 9 meeting had authorized a junior engineer to certify the bill and clear the payment, the engineer stands transferred and his successor hasn’t yet cleared the bills and the payment.
“How are we going to continue the ABC programme in the absence of funding by the civic body. We have been carrying out the programme without payment for the last 16 months. The MMC dog catching vehicle frequently breaks down and we have to bear the repair costs. Somehow we arranged funds from our friends and well wishers to foot the salary bill of the five employees. This isn’t the way an ABC programme is carried out,” wondered an animal lover.
She added: “Look at the dog shelter. There are hundred dogs presently sheltered at the place. We take care of them despite payments not forthcoming from the Municipality”.
That’s not all. The NGO itself hasn’t been paid for around 16 months since April 2020, leaving animal lovers to fend for themselves, to borrow funds from friends and well wishers just to keep the ABC programme afloat in the city.
Indeed, Margao Municipal Council’s apathy and indifference has left the High Court-mandated Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme in the lurch in the commercial capital for want of support from the civic body.
Otherwise, consider this: The MoU between the Margao Municipal Council and the South Goa Welfare Trust for Animals (SGWTA) had expired on December 30, 2020. In the fitness of things, the MoU ought to have been renewed with SGWTA or a new NGO needed to be roped in to carry forward the ABC programme.
The MMC administration was not quick in either renewing the existing MoU or inking a new agreement on the understanding that the elected municipal body will take a call how to go about the matter after the municipal polls. Take note, the MMC got a new Council headed by Chairperson Lyndon Pereira, backed by the Margao Civic Alliance floated by Opposition leader Digambar Kamat and Vijai Sardesai in May last, but the stray dogs issue seemed to have still not featured on the priority list of the new Council.
The issue did figure at the first meeting of the newly-elected Council held on July 9, which had not only agreed to clear the pending payments due to the NGO, running into lakhs of rupees, but to ink a new agreement at the earliest.
Five months down the line, the ground reality, remains unchanged. The NGO has not received any payments since April 2020. And, though SGWTA has claimed to have carried out the ABC programme in the city out of love for animals and taking into account the rising dog population, questions have been raised in the corridors of the civic body whether the NGO is eligible to claim the payments for want of a MoU.
The Goan understands that after the July 9 meeting, the Council had invited another NGO to give a presentation how to go about the ABC programme in the city. Till date, no one knows the outcome of the powerpoint presentation.
The Municipal sanitary section says the ABC programme is now being monitored by the engineers attached to the technical section. And, while the July 9 meeting had authorized a junior engineer to certify the bill and clear the payment, the engineer stands transferred and his successor hasn’t yet cleared the bills and the payment.
“How are we going to continue the ABC programme in the absence of funding by the civic body. We have been carrying out the programme without payment for the last 16 months. The MMC dog catching vehicle frequently breaks down and we have to bear the repair costs. Somehow we arranged funds from our friends and well wishers to foot the salary bill of the five employees. This isn’t the way an ABC programme is carried out,” wondered an animal lover.
She added: “Look at the dog shelter. There are hundred dogs presently sheltered at the place. We take care of them despite payments not forthcoming from the Municipality”.
