VASCO
The sudden transfer of Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) Chief Officer Siddhivinayak S Naik on Wednesday has set off intense speculation in the port town.
The timing of the administrative decision, the manner in which it has been executed and the circumstances surrounding his recent interactions with elected representatives and market vendors have raised several uncomfortable questions.
In an order issued on Wednesday, Under Secretary (Personnel-I) Raghuraj Faldesai stated that Siddhivinayak S Naik shall report to Department of Personnel until further orders. “Madhu G Narvekar, Chief Officer of Margao Municipal Council, shall hold the charge of Chief Officer, Mormugao Municipal Council, in addition to his own duties. The officers shall complete handing over and taking over process with immediate effect and submit compliance,” the order stated.
However, its timing and the absence of an alternative posting for Naik have given rise to speculation that this may be more than an ordinary transfer.
Unlike a routine reshuffle involving several officers being moved between departments, the present arrangement involves the removal of one municipal chief officer and the temporary assignment of another officer already heading a busy municipal council. This has naturally fuelled questions about what prompted the sudden decision.
The timing is particularly significant because Naik’s transfer comes barely a week after the devastating fire at Vasco’s Sunday Modern Market, when the MMC was at the centre of an unprecedented administrative challenge involving compensation claims, rehabilitation of affected vendors, structural safety and restoration of the damaged premises.
During this period, Naik was actively involved in the administrative response and was part of the scrutiny committee examining compensation claims submitted by fire-affected shopkeepers and vendors.
Did CO’s remarks irk MLA?
Vasco MLA Krishna Daji Salkar had criticised the MMC for its failure to initiate action against dilapidated and dangerous buildings in Vasco, warning that civic officials could face serious accountability, including criminal liability, if negligence results in loss of human lives.
Hitting back, Naik had responded that the MMC was doing its job and not sitting idle. Did his assertion, which could have been intended to defend the council’s administrative efforts, rub the wrong way with the Vasco MLA?
Eviction notices
Naik’s administrative approach towards the fire aftermath may have also placed him on the wrong side of sections of the affected trading community and elected representatives.
Apart from participating in the scrutiny of compensation claims, he had reportedly taken up the issue of eviction notices to affected vendors, raising questions about their continued occupation of premises that required administrative attention following the fire.
Could this have upset some shopkeepers, who may have subsequently approached their respective political representatives? Did the pressure generated by the affected traders and their representations to elected representatives contribute to the developments that eventually led to his transfer?
This development further upset Salkar who slammed Naik for issuing the eviction notices and said he had sought the chief minister’s intervention in the matter.
Insurance proposal
Another proposal that could have generated differing reactions was Naik’s suggestion of introducing comprehensive fire insurance coverage for the municipal market.
His proposal was aimed at ensuring that the entire market came under an insurance arrangement, with shopkeepers contributing towards the premium instead of leaving the government to shoulder the financial burden whenever such disasters occurred.
While the suggestion could be viewed as a long-term financial safeguard for the municipal administration and the state exchequer, did some shopkeepers perceive the proposal as an additional financial burden at a time when they were already struggling to recover from devastating losses?
Could his insistence on administrative measures, including those that may not have been particularly popular with sections of the trading community, have contributed to the discontent surrounding him?
The coincidence of events has made the decision difficult to view as an ordinary administrative reshuffle. In Vasco, the bigger question is why he had to leave Mormugao so abruptly, and whether the events of the past week had anything to do with it.
The fire may have gutted the market, but the aftermath appears to have ignited a fresh political and administrative storm in the port town.
One officer, two A-Grade councils; Mormugao left without full-time CO
VASCO: The sudden transfer of Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) Chief Officer Siddhivinayak S Naik and his replacement by Margao Municipal Council Chief Officer Madhu G Narvekar has raised questions over the functioning of the civic body at a sensitive time.
Both Margao and Mormugao are busy A-Grade municipal councils with substantial administrative responsibilities. Narvekar is already heading Margao, which has its own pressing civic issues and workload.
Questions are being raised over whether he will have sufficient time to oversee the day-to-day functioning of another busy council like Mormugao.
Many feel appointing a full-time Chief Officer would have been a more practical decision, particularly when Vasco is grappling with the aftermath of one of the biggest fires to hit its commercial establishment.
