the goan I network
VASCO
It was meant to be Mormugao Municipal Council’s ‘Signature Project’, but the site earmarked for the chief officer’s bungalow has now turned into a dumping ground for old and scrapped vehicles of the council.
According to locals, the site for the new chief officer’s bungalow was cleared and kept ready for construction as part of the ‘Signature Project’, but there has been no progress in the matter for several years.
Sources said the project has been on hold for around eight years, with the project having been tendered many times.
Former minister Jose Philip DSouza has slammed MMC officials for misusing the
cleared area to dump its vehicle and hurting public sentiments regarding the signature project.
“It is a shame that MMC has converted the open area into a dumping ground by parking unused, old, scrapped vehicles and compactors. This was the site for a signature project and the foundation stone was laid by Francis D’Souza during his previous tenure as urban development minister.”
“As minister in 2010, I had made available funds for the project and had deposited an amount of Rs 3 crore with the MMC. But today I am upset that a project close to my heart is become a dumpyard of old and scrapped vehicles,” said D’Souza.
“It is sad that the project has not seen light of the day for the last eight years, but more upsetting is the manner in which the MMC is using the space. This is loss of people’s hard-earned money given to the MMC for the chief officer’s bungalow,” said D’Souza.
When contacted, MMC Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes said the old vehicles were kept on temporary basis at the site, in the absence of space in the garage.
“The MMC has plans to dispose off the old vehicles and is awaiting DMA approval. We have recently acquired 10 new vehicles and these new vehicles cannot be kept on the road as they could be damaged by miscreants.”
“Hence, we have kept them in the garage and old vehicles from the garage have been shifted to the Chief Officer’s bungalow site. We will soon dispose off our old vehicles once we get DMA approval,” said Fernandes.
