MARGAO
In an interesting development, Margao Municipal Chief Officer Rohit Kadam on Thursday disclosed plans to hold the proposed meeting with citizens in the coming weeks or next month, asserting that the citizens initiative is not cancelled, but only postponed.
Saying that the postponement of the meeting has nothing to do with the City Fathers or the MLAs representing the city, Kadam said the meeting was postponed since he had to rush to the Secretariat for an urgent meeting called by the higher-ups. “Due to unfortunate circumstances, I had to postpone the meeting since I was called at the Secretariat by my superiors. There’s an impression that councillors have pressured me to cancel the meeting, but that is not the truth,” he told the media.
He, however, said that citizens are free to give their suggestions to him, saying his office is always open for the people. “Citizens are always welcome to give their suggestions. People message me on issues and give their suggestions. But, we should also understand that there’s a process that is required to be followed. We can implement the suggestions after following the process after taking the Council resolution,” he added.
Saying that both the city MLAs, Digambar Kamat and Vijai Sardesai have been supportive of his work, Kadam said the two MLAs have a vision for the city and want things to improve.
On the garbage dues owed by the SGPDA, Kadam said officials of the MMC and the SGPDA will hold discussions on how to go about to settle the payment issue. “We will sort out the payment issue. The PDA Member Secretary has promised to place the matter at the next PDA meeting for discussion and solution,” he said.
