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intro
Cuncolim finally has a new team heading the B Class Municipal body led by first-time Councillor,Â
Chairperson ÂÂLavita Mascarenhas and her deputy Mario Moraes. However, the new Council’s journey
isn’t going to be a smooth ride, with the town plagued by the same old problems “ be it the
abandoned health club project, which has blocked the Golden Jubilee funds amounting to a
whopping Rs 1.40 crore, the fate of the land acquired for the administrative complex, the multi-
purpose commercial complex which has virtually turned into a white elephant, regularization of
civic workers, streamlining of waste collection and disposal, et al, reports Guilherme Almeida
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Photo of the abandoned health club
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New council to take call on health club project
For the last three years and half, the Cuncolim civic body dilly-dallied in taking a call on whether
to go ahead with the Rs 1.40 crore health club project. The project had turned controversial and
eventually hit a block after work commenced without the work order after the 2012 election code of conduct came into force. The outgoing body also could not take a decision since investigations into the project was pending before the Anti-Âcorruption Bureau and the Cuncolim police as the two
agencies groped into the dark as to how the work had commenced sans the work order. The new
Council has its task cut out to treat the matter with topmost priority “ whether to continue with the
project or utilize the Rs 1.40 crore Golden Jubilee grant for another project. Vice-ÂChairperson
Mario Moraes admitted that the new Council will take an appropriate decision on the issue taking
the interest of the people into account. “We will also try to find out first from the Chief Officer the
status of the Golden Jubilee grant given to the civic body,” he added.
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photo of the commercial complex cum municipal hall project
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Overhaul for commercial complex project
The avowed objective behind executing the commercial project-cum-municipal hall was not just to
create a shopping avenue, but to make the project a self-Âsustaining one. Four years after the
project was completed, many say the commercial complex project has turned into a white
elephant. For the last 2Â3 years, the expected rent from the project has failed to enrich the
municipal coffers for reasons best known to the city fathers and the civic babus. That’s not all.
The municipal hall is craving for attention since its inauguration. In the absence of air-conditioning
facility, the municipal hall has hardly any takers. The hall is yet to become popular for tiatr and
entertainment programmes for want of AC facility. Moraes said that the new body will definitely take a close look at the infrastructural requirements of the hall and also put in place a mechanism so that the commercial complex generates revenue for the civic body.
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photo of the acquired land which has till date not come into the CMC possession
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Administrative complex project to go ahead: Moraes
It’s now more than two years since the Cuncolim Municipal Council acquired land opposite the
bus stand to set up an administrative complex. Till date, however, the civic body has not taken
possession of the acquired land following protests by the farmer, Vishnu Desai, and tacit support
extended to the farmer by the Cuncolim MLA Rajan Naik. Even the road-widening project near the
bus stand could not take off since the farmer has refused to part with the required land, though
CMC claims that the civic body is the owner of the land after the acquisition. CMC Vice-
Chairperson, Mario Moraes, who has been a strong votary of the administrative complex project,
says the civic body will take possession of the land in phases.
“For the moment, we will ensure that the road outside the bus stand is widened so as to ease traffic congestion. Let the body take a call on the issue, but one thing is clear, that the civic body will not scrap the administrative complex project,” Moraes asserted.
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New council to monitor financials
Another area where the new Council will have to devote attention is the very administration of the
Cuncolim Municipal body. That the state audit and the special audit had in the past slammed the
municipal body should ring alarm bells for the civic body. In fact, the CMC vice-Âchairperson said
that the new Council will closely monitor the civic finances, including revenue, against the
backdrop of the audit reports.
“After we took over the reigns, we have found the CMC closing balance as Rs 6.04 crore. We have asked the Chief Officer to specify the heads representing the amount before further decision in taken on the question of finances,” he added.
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Waste collection to be streamlined
The new Council is believed to have suggested to the municipal administration the need to
streamline the door-to-door collection, besides the treatment of the waste. Given that the
municipality pays around Rs 90,000 as monthly wages for the nine workers manning the
treatment plant, the new Council has sent a signal to the administration to get the manpower
fully utilized for the waste treatment work and clear the mess around. The new Council also has a
task cut out to streamline door-to-door waste collection by stressing waste segregation at source.
