MARGAO
After a week-long administrative crisis that hit the functioning of the civic body that saw the government posting and transferring Chief Officers of the A-class municipal body in a week’s time, newly-posted senior officer, Agnelo Fernandes, will assume office as the CO of the Margao Municipal Council on Monday.
The new Chief Officer, however, has a clear task cut out for him in as he takes over the reins of office on Monday. Many officers have declined to take up posting in the
civic body.
Several burning and long-pending issues await the new Chief Officer, ranging from Sonsodo waste management to toning up the municipal administration.
Given the cold war between his office and the municipal chairperson, the new CO will have his task cut out to handle the local political satraps, more so when the municipalities are heading for elections.
Agnelo is no stranger to municipal administration, having rich experience in local bodies such as Mormugao, Cuncolim, Curchorem, Canacona and Sanguem.
The biggest challenge before the new CO is to manage the Sonsodo crisis staring at the civic body. With the MMC opting for the bio-methanation plants, the Chief Officer will be the cynosure of all eyes, right from the government to the Goa Waste Management Corporation and the local city fathers to set in motion the process to make the biomethanation plants a reality.
Sonsodo is also craving for urgent attention after Fomento had quit the site around seven months ago. With the daily waste treatment and the handling of the dry waste going haywire, the CO will have to put a mechanism in place to get the Sonsodo plant running till the biomethanation plants are set up and to also get the baling machines repaired.
During the tenure of his predecessor Ajit Panchwadkar, the MMC corridors had witnessed a cold war between Chairperson Pooja Naik and the CO that had hampered the smooth functioning of the civic body.
That’s not all. Employees under the banner of the Goa Municipal Employees Association had raised a banner of revolt against the outgoing Chief Officer for several reasons.
Agnelo will have to also work in the area of revenue collection that has been badly affected in the last couple of months. The MMC had to go for premature withdrawal of a fixed deposit to pay for the salaries.
The new CO will have to go for revenue collection and tap the resources to foot the Rs 1.40 crore monthly salary bill of the employees and workers.
Toning up the municipal administration and make it citizen-friendly in times of Covid-19 pandemic should hopefully find a mention on the new CO’s agenda.
The parking project has been lying in limbo for the last five years. Blame it on the city fathers or the civic babus, the parking project could not see the light of day during the last five years.
The new CO will have to play a big role to expedite the process and tender the long-delayed multi-level parking project.
