MARGAO
Outgoing MMC councillors backed by the Goa Forward Party, on Saturday said the group had initiated a slew of development works during its five-year rule in the civic body.
Addressing the media, outgoing chairperson Pooja Naik and former chief Babita Prabhudesai claimed the civic body had initiated measures not only to resolve the garbage crisis plaguing the city, but had initiated host of works.
Babita, however, sought to blame the technical sections for the delay in the implementation of some of the projects such as the multi-level parking project. She also blamed an ex-Chief Officer for not taking the decisions on the projects to make these successful.
She pointed out that the Opinion Poll square had become a reality during the last five years, which is now playing host as a cultural avenue of the city.
“We had managed to shift the St Francis Xavier Chapel from Old Market to the municipal land acquired for parking. A number of traffic signals have become a reality in the last five years. The feast fair is now being held on the SGPDA ground. We have given justice to the Bazzarkars by capping the number of exhibitions on the SGPDA ground,” she said.
The former MMC Chairperson said the door-to-door waste collection was streamlined during her tenure, giving relief to 70 per cent work on waste segregation in the city. “During our tenure, we had procured utility items such as JCB, trucks and compactors. Rent on the fuel pumps operating on the municipal land was revised enriching the municipal coffers,” Babita said.
In her address, outgoing MMC Chairperson Pooja Naik said the bio-remediation project at the Sonsodo legacy dump has started at the initiative of the civic body. “We have taken measures to streamline waste collection and disposal. Around eight baling machines were procured to tackle dry waste,” she said.
On the multi-level parking project, Pooja said it is finally ready for implementation, adding that the bio-methanation proposal has also been approved by the civic body and will be sent to the government for approval.
Incidentally, both Babita and Pooja literally struggled to answer why the council could not resolve the burning issue of garbage and parking. The duo also could not satisfactorily reply why the heritage MMC building could not get a fresh coat of paint in the last five years.
