MARGAO
Capping the row over the proposal to purchase a swanky Innova Crysta car costing Rs 15.41 lakh for the official use of the chairperson, Margao Municipal Council Chairperson Babita Angle Prabhudesai on Friday said the Council will not only drop the proposal to go in for the new vehicle, but she would not use the official vehicle as long as she presides over the affairs of the civic body.
Babita also downplayed the resentment brewing against her, saying the ruling group of councillors are united, but
in the same vein said there may be minor differences, which need to be sorted out.
"From Monday onwards, I will use my personal vehicle and will not use the Council vehicle at all. The Council will not go ahead and purchase the new vehicle," Babita said, while addressing the media in her chamber on Friday. Vice-Chairperson Tito Cardozo and BJP-backed councillors Rupesh Mahatme and Ketan Kurtarkar were present for the briefing.
"In the past, I had stated that I will not use the official vehicle. During the election, my vehicle was taken by the Election official for official work. However, ex-Chief Officer had misguided us by saying that I have to use the official vehicle since maintaining log book of the municipal driver driving my personal vehicle was a problem. That's the reason why I had started using the official vehicle," she said.
Babita attributed her decision not to use the official vehicle from Monday to the ongoing debate in the media over moves by the MMC to purchase a new official vehicle for the Chairperson.
The Chairperson pointed out that she is not occupying the chair to use the Chairperson's vehicle, saying "I have my own resources and I will use my own vehicle."
Asked whether the proposal moved to the government to seek relaxation in the norms for purchase of the new vehicle, Babita said "When the file was move to the government, I had made it clear to the Director of Municipal Administration that the civic body will not purchase the vehicle till the time the proposal is confirmed by the government."
Meanwhile, when asked to comment on the resentment brewing in the ruling camp against her, Babita said though she would not like to comment on the question, she said there may be small differences here and there which can be resolved across the table.
"From Monday onwards, I will use my personal vehicle and will not use the Council vehicle at all. The Council will not go ahead and purchase the new vehicle," Babita said, while addressing the media in her chamber on Friday. Vice-Chairperson Tito Cardozo and BJP-backed councillors Rupesh Mahatme and Ketan Kurtarkar were present for the briefing.
"In the past, I had stated that I will not use the official vehicle. During the election, my vehicle was taken by the Election official for official work. However, ex-Chief Officer had misguided us by saying that I have to use the official vehicle since maintaining log book of the municipal driver driving my personal vehicle was a problem. That's the reason why I had started using the official vehicle," she said.
Babita attributed her decision not to use the official vehicle from Monday to the ongoing debate in the media over moves by the MMC to purchase a new official vehicle for the Chairperson.
The Chairperson pointed out that she is not occupying the chair to use the Chairperson's vehicle, saying "I have my own resources and I will use my own vehicle."
Asked whether the proposal moved to the government to seek relaxation in the norms for purchase of the new vehicle, Babita said "When the file was move to the government, I had made it clear to the Director of Municipal Administration that the civic body will not purchase the vehicle till the time the proposal is confirmed by the government."
Meanwhile, when asked to comment on the resentment brewing in the ruling camp against her, Babita said though she would not like to comment on the question, she said there may be small differences here and there which can be resolved across the table.
