the goan I network
MARGAO
In an interesting development, Margao Municipal Council Chief Officer Johnson Fernandes has favoured criminal prosecution of the door to door garbage contractor for raising a bill for payment of wages for 45 workers when Municipal records put the number of workers engaged by the agency to only 31.
Chairperson, Babita Angle Prabhudesai, however, has been charged for maintaining silence on the Chief Officer's advise to lodge a police complaint though she has called for the payment of wages for the 31 workers engaged by the private agency.
The Chief Officer's noting on the official file, stating that lodging a police complaint against Babu Engineering and environmental services is advisable, assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of uproar that was triggered in the corridors of the Civic body over the payment of wages for the private contractor.
What's significant to note is the Municipal Chairperson has not commented anything on the Chief Officer advise on the official file.
When The Goan called up Babita Prabhudesai to shed light on her reported silence on lodging a FIR against the private contractor, she said nothing stops the Chief Officer from taking a call on the issue.
"As far as I am concerned, I pulled up the contractor and questioned him for raising a bill for payment for 45 workers when he had engaged only 31 workers for the door to door waste collection. If the Chief Officer feels that there are enough grounds to proceed against the contractor for criminal prosecution, nothing stops him from taking a call," she said.
The Municipal Chairperson, however, has said the payments to the door to door waste contractor have been kept on hold on the question of payment of provident fund to the workers engaged by him.
This follows queries raised by the CO whether the Council is required to pay the provident fund amount directly to the account of the workers or to the contractor.
"It has been decided to send the file to the municipal lawyer for vetting. Till such time, the Municipality will not clear the payments," she added.
In the meantime, former Municipal Chairperson Savio Coutinho has threatened to approach the appropriate forum if the civic body releases payments to Babu Environmental services.
"The very fact that the agency claimed payment for workers who actually did not work and submitted a false list attracts the termination of the fraudulently executed MOU. If Shadow Council Margao had not exposed the fraud, the MMC would have cleared the false bills," Coutinho said.
He also said the procedure adopted by the Council to engage the private contractor has raised many an eyebrow for the simple reason that Babu's application was received by the Municipality well after the prescribed deadline.
MARGAO
In an interesting development, Margao Municipal Council Chief Officer Johnson Fernandes has favoured criminal prosecution of the door to door garbage contractor for raising a bill for payment of wages for 45 workers when Municipal records put the number of workers engaged by the agency to only 31.
Chairperson, Babita Angle Prabhudesai, however, has been charged for maintaining silence on the Chief Officer's advise to lodge a police complaint though she has called for the payment of wages for the 31 workers engaged by the private agency.
The Chief Officer's noting on the official file, stating that lodging a police complaint against Babu Engineering and environmental services is advisable, assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of uproar that was triggered in the corridors of the Civic body over the payment of wages for the private contractor.
What's significant to note is the Municipal Chairperson has not commented anything on the Chief Officer advise on the official file.
When The Goan called up Babita Prabhudesai to shed light on her reported silence on lodging a FIR against the private contractor, she said nothing stops the Chief Officer from taking a call on the issue.
"As far as I am concerned, I pulled up the contractor and questioned him for raising a bill for payment for 45 workers when he had engaged only 31 workers for the door to door waste collection. If the Chief Officer feels that there are enough grounds to proceed against the contractor for criminal prosecution, nothing stops him from taking a call," she said.
The Municipal Chairperson, however, has said the payments to the door to door waste contractor have been kept on hold on the question of payment of provident fund to the workers engaged by him.
This follows queries raised by the CO whether the Council is required to pay the provident fund amount directly to the account of the workers or to the contractor.
"It has been decided to send the file to the municipal lawyer for vetting. Till such time, the Municipality will not clear the payments," she added.
In the meantime, former Municipal Chairperson Savio Coutinho has threatened to approach the appropriate forum if the civic body releases payments to Babu Environmental services.
"The very fact that the agency claimed payment for workers who actually did not work and submitted a false list attracts the termination of the fraudulently executed MOU. If Shadow Council Margao had not exposed the fraud, the MMC would have cleared the false bills," Coutinho said.
He also said the procedure adopted by the Council to engage the private contractor has raised many an eyebrow for the simple reason that Babu's application was received by the Municipality well after the prescribed deadline.
