the goan I network
MARGAO
In a major anti-encroachment drive initiated by the Margao Municipal Council on Wednesday, goods (worth around Rs 4-5 lakh) displayed along the city passages and footpaths were confiscated by municipal workers throughout the day.
In fact, the entrance to the Margao Municipal Council building resembled a mini-market as the confiscated goods were all stored in the building passage, before workers sorted out the material.
Chief Officer Siddivinayak Naik told the media that the encroachment drive was undertaken by the civic body in the wake of complaints that unscrupulous traders and businessman have illegally encroached upon the passages with their goods. The Chief Officer has pegged the value of the confiscated goods to a whopping Rs 4-5 lakh.
While it has been a norm in the Margao municipality to return the confiscated goods back to the traders upon payment of fine, all eyes are now focused on the Chief Officer whether he would follow the old norm or auction the goods to the prospective bidders.
When The Goan contacted the Chief Officer to shed light on the fate of the confiscated goods, he said that he would move a note to the Chairperson Babita Prabhudesai to take a policy decision against the return of the confiscated goods back to the traders. “Unless the municipality takes a policy decision not to return back the confiscated goods, any drive will not have a deterrent value. We have observed that goods once returned back to the traders surface at the same spot, defeating the very purpose of the exercise,” Naik said.
