the goan I network
MARGAO
As the stalemate over the fate of the petition filed by the Opposition councillors of Margao Municipal Council continues with the Director of Municipal Administration not pronouncing his order till 12 noon on Thursday, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai has announced to defer its plan to name the Fatorda road after Manohar Parrikar.
And, the Fatorda MLA was not clear in saying whether the road will be named after Manohar Parrikar in the future, saying the government is not keen to have Parrikar’s name given for the road. He said he doesn’t want to trivialise the name of the former Chief Minister.
He also refuted the reported that he had tried to hijack Parrikar’s legacy, saying “unlike Manohar Parrikar, who was part of the RSS shaka, I was not even a part of the BJP. Hence there’s no question of hijacking Parrikar’s legacy”.
Addressing the media, Sardesai said he had no option than to defer the plan to name the Fatorda road after Manohar Parrikar given that the stalemate over the DMA’s order continues. “The DMA had reserved his order and it was not pronounced even by 12 noon on Thursday. In such a situation, the municipality cannot go ahead with the road naming. One should remember that the DMA means the government and the delay in pronouncing the order is done by the government,” he added.
Without setting any time frame to name the Fatorda road, Sardesai said he would take further steps to upgrade and beautify the road, even as he thanked the people of Fatorda for sacrificing their land to make the four-lane road project a success.
Saying that a former MLA has claimed credit for the project, Sardesai said the credit goes to the people who had sacrificed their land for the project. “Even Manohar Parrikar must have provided money for the project, but the real credit goes to the people who have sacrificed their land,” he added.
He said land for the project was initiated way back in 2009 and the award was finally pronounced in October 2012 when he became an MLA. “The land was taken in possession in 2016 and the road works started during the BRICS summit. While the road project cost Rs 20 crore, the total project has cost the exchequer around Rs 50 crore to provide all the amenities including ducts for public utility services, dedicated water pipelines, underground cabling, etc,” he added.
Obtained permissions for construction of office building: Vijai
MARGAO: Saying that the construction near his residence at the Davondem bandh is not a “matka adda” but a ground-plus office building, Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai on Thursday asserted that he had undertaken the construction based on a legally issued technical clearance and a construction licence by the concerned bodies.
Reacting to the show cause notice cum stop work order issued on his construction by the Deputy Collector, Margao and the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) to forthwith stop work on the project, Sardesai asserted that he has gone about the construction work as per the law. “I have returned home from abroad only yesterday. The notices issued by the authorities are still not received by me,” he said, adding his legal team will go into the legal aspects and file the reply.
“The people of Fatorda are watching the authorities. I had my office there at the very same location and the same is being upgraded to meet the requirements of the people of Fatorda and Goans as well. One should not forget that I am not only representing the people of Fatorda, but I am heading a political party. The office was just being upgraded to improve upon the facilities at the office,” he added.
