MARGAO
What was feared all along in the corridors of the Margao Municipal body and outside have come true “ how will the civic body recover the payment amounting to Rs 8 lakh made to the e-rickshaw agency engaged by the Municipality to clean the city pavements and footpaths without complying with the codal formalities and without obtaining a performance guarantee?
For, the civic body, in violation of all financial rules in force, had accepted a mere cheque from the agency as security in the event the two e-rickshaws default in providing the promised service to the Municipality.
The Goan now understands that the cheque, which was deposited by the Municipality in the bank, has since been returned back to the civic body with a note that the drawer has requested not to accept the same. With the e-rickshaws stranded at the Municipal Old Market garage with the agency not running the vehicles in cleaning up the pavements and footpaths, questions are being raised how the civic body will go about recovering the amount of Rs 8 lakh from the agency.
A host of questions have come to haunt the City Fathers and civic babus over the episode “ Are any avenues available to the civic body to recover the amount of Rs 8 lakh from the agency with the two vehicles just lying parked in the Municipal garage for the last couple of months. And, if there are avenues available to the civic body to recover the payment, what steps have the Municipality initiated till date to recover the same and whether any complaint has gone to any authority for the recovery?
The e-rickshaws had kicked up a row of sort around mid-August 2022 when Margao MLA Digambar Kamat inaugurated one of the e-rickshaw in front of the Municipal building in the presence of councillors, then Chief Officer Rohit Kadam and officials.
For, neither the agency was roped in by floating a tender nor did the civic body insisted on a performance guarantee as security. Instead, the civic body had made the payment to the agency as maintenance charges and flouted the performance guarantee now by accepting a cheque.
Incidentally, the Municipal accounts section and a section of engineers had questioned the manner in which the civic body was rushing in to rope in the agency by throwing the tendering norms to the winds. Sadly, the Accounts section was overruled by the higher Municipal officials, while engineers, who questioned the project, were sidelined before the civic officials went about commissioning the two vehicles with much fanfare.
Says a senior Municipal official: “We fail to understand why the civic body had to rush in great hurry to pay the amount of Rs 8 lakh to the agency by throwing the codal formalities to the winds. Leave alone floating a tender, the civic body did not even obtain a performance guarantee from the agency to effect recovery if the project fails to deliver.”
The official added: “What was the hurry on the part of the senior Municipal officials to clear the proposal without floating a tender or insisting on a performance guarantee. This and many a question still remain unanswered in the corridors of the civic body.”
With e-rickshaws lying idle in garage, answers sought from Digambar, Vijai
MARGAO: What have the two MLAs, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat and his Fatorda counterpart Vijai Sardesai, to say with the two e-rickshaws roped in by the Margao Municipal Council are lying idle and stranded in the Municipal old market garage?
Well, the vehicles were launched by the Margao MLA with much fanfare in front of the Municipal building on Independence Day last year. The Fatorda MLA followed suit days later as he gave a thumbs up to the vehicle after a demonstration at the Opinion Poll square.
With the MMC spending Rs 8 lakh on the project and the two vehicles lying stranded in the Municipal garage in the last 2-3 months, questions are being raised whether the two MLAs have tried to ascertain the reasons behind the vehicles parked in the garage instead of cleaning up the city pavements.
Questions are also being raised in the corridors of the civic body how come the names of Model Margao floated by the Margao MLA and Sardesai’s Fatorda Forward found a mention on the e-rickshaws given that the payments amounting to Rs 8 lakh was made to the agency by the Margao Municipality. Or, whether the two MLAs were supposed to look after the future maintenance of the vehicles?
