PERNEM
Councillors at the Pernem Municipal Council (PMC) have complained that lack of effective coordination between municipal staff and some senior officers has been a big hurdle in development works in the municipality.
The issue was raised during the council meeting chaired by PMC Chairperson Smita Kudtarkar in the presence of Panchayat Minister Rajendra Arlekar, PMC Vice-Chairperson Upendra Deshprabhu and other councillors.
The councillors complained that poor coordination between municipal staff and the chief officer had led to failure in the recovery of dues, a delay in legal action against illegal constructions and a delay in correspondence with the government regarding development works.
Others present at the meeting included Councillors Prashant Gadekar, Deepak Mandrekar, Gajanan Sawal, Shraddha Mashelkar, Sawati Kambli, Usha Nagvekar and Chief Officer Amalia Pinto, while Councillors Siddhesh Pednekar and Suvidha Teli were absent.
PMC Vice-Chairperson Upendra Deshprabhu alleged that transactions of funds had been deliberately kept on hold, while files pertaining to development works were missing in the council.
“The file pertaining to funds of Rs 1.75 lakh, which was allotted to the PMC in 2004-05, is missing. I had sought permission for a soda factory and the amount for the license was also taken by the PMC staff. I did not get any permit, but the file is missing,” claimed Deshprabhu.
One councillor alleged that about 42 kiosks are illegal and not registered with the PMC. “Some kiosks have turned into shops,” he alleged.
The council decided to form a team under PMC supervisor, which would review the illegal houses and consider the possibility of legalising them.
The council also decided to collect Rs 30 from each household per month to initiate collection of house-to-house garbage in the municipality.
The Tuem-Pernem border dispute was also raised by Mashelkar at the meeting.
