MARGAO
Has the new BJP-backed Margao Municipal Council any solution in mind to bring the three trucks on the roads, and save the civic body an estimated loss of Rs 37 lakh?
The three BS4-compliant trucks have been lying in the municipal garage instead of plying on the roads since they were all purchased by the civic body in 2019, days before the BS6-compliant engine regulations came into force in April 2020 and hence were not registered with the Transport department.
Civic officials feared that the trucks may rust and corrode and may never come on the roads if the municipality does not move the Supreme Court with a petition seeking directions to the Transport department to register the three BS4-compliant vehicles.
The stand of civic officials, however, seemed to have somehow not convinced the City Fathers, who seemed more interested in penalizing the erring officials and staff than seeking relief on how to get the trucks on the roads with a Supreme Court nod.
Otherwise, consider this. The issue of three trucks purchased in 2019 just days before the BS6 engine regime came into force in April 2020 had figured prominently at the first meeting of the current Margao Municipal Council headed by Chairperson Lyndon Pereira on July 9, 2021.
At the meeting, councillors were unanimous in their opinion that since the three vehicles cannot be registered now due to the sheer negligence of the civic officials, they demanded recovery of the loss from the officials.
A year and four months since the elected council took the decision, there’s neither action initiated against the officials nor has the civic body taken steps to get the trucks on the roads by approaching the Supreme Court.
At a subsequent council meeting, the administration had submitted a proposal to file a petition in the Supreme Court seeking registration of the three trucks before they could ply on the roads, but again the City Fathers shot down the proposal on grounds that it may cost the civic body a bomb to approach the Supreme Court.
Since then, the trucks have been lying unutilised in the municipal garage, with fears being raised that the vehicles may corrode and rust, causing loss to the civic body.
In the meantime, civic officials explored the possibility of whether the ITIs can purchase the vehicles to cater to their educational requirements. While officials had initially evinced interest in the vehicles, the proposal, however, did not see the light of day.
An official informed that the municipality's High Court lawyer has sounded optimistic that the MMC will get relief from the Supreme Court, but that has not convinced the City Fathers in giving the nod to sanction funds to approach the Apex Court.
“Every time, the issue comes before the council, the City Fathers say it may cost a bomb to take up the matter to the Supreme Court. But, there’s no harm if we can get the vehicles back on the roads by spending a few lakhs,” the official said.
He asserted it is now for the Margao Municipal Council to take a call “ whether to spend Rs 3-5 lakh on engaging a lawyer in the Supreme Court to get the vehicles on the road or allow the three trucks costing Rs 37 lakh in the municipal garage.”
