With the High Court directions to deposit an amount of Rs 2.73 crore staring at the Margao Municipal Council in a land acquisition matter, the MMC on Tuesday has adopted a host of resolution, including a resolution to drop the acquisition of the land considering the huge cost.
Saying the entire land in question is not required for the purpose since the road is already laid and asphalted, the MMC at a special meeting chaired by Chairperson Damu Shirodkar has further resolved that since the Municipal technical section had only submitted the tentative cost of the land acquisition the team will revisit the entire issue on valuation and come up with the tentative figures again.
The two-decade-old Rs 2.73-crore land acquisition matter had come to haunt the MMC after the High Court directed the civic body to deposit the amount in the court as per the tentative cost worked out by the technical team.
Perhaps for the first time in recent times, the Margao Municipal Senior Counsel in the High Court, Adv Padiyar attended a special meeting of the council to discuss and decide on the issue of depositing the amount in the High Court. Adv. Padiyar was specially invited by the civic body to brief the City Fathers on the contentious issue since many an eyebrow were raised over the huge amount payable for the land acquisition in the Colmorod ward.
City Fathers cutting across party lines, unanimously resolved that the MMC should not deposit any amount in the High Court, even contending that the civic body should not pursue the land acquisition.
The Councilors also raised eyebrows over the tentative amount of Rs 2.73 crore worked out by the technical section, demanding to know the yardstick applied by the engineers in arriving at the figure.
Councilor Sadanand Naik demanded that the council should hand over the entire matter for investigation to the retired High Court Judge to unearth the true facts.
Former Chairperson Ganashyam Shirodkar pointed out that the cost of acquisition of one meter of the land in question will cost the Civic body Rs 45,000, pointing that the City Fathers are not in favour of payment of any money for the acquisition. He said when the MMC is facing problems to arrange funds to pay the salaries and wages, the civic body should not go ahead with the acquisition.
Ganashyam further pointed out that the decision to pay the land acquisition amount was never discussed at the council meeting. He said the administration had in the past taken a similar resolution to support the Kabrastan at Sonsodo when the Council had never adopted such a decision.
Adv. Padiyar pointed out that the Rs 2.73 crore tentative cost of the land acquisition also covers the 1200 square meter land proposed to be acquired for the road. He, however, said the petitioner in the High Court is affected only by a stretch admeasuring 600 square metres.
