MARGAO
As the Margao Municipal Council braces up to float a door-to-door waste collection tender in the commercial capital, a host of questions have come to haunt the Municipal body and the civic Babus for executing similar work over the last two years by throwing codal formalities to the winds.
Consider this: The civic body has drawn up plans to float an e-tender to rope in contractors for the collection of door-to-door waste at a whopping cost of over Rs 5 crore per year. A glance at the Municipal records would show that the civic body has been paying lakhs of rupees, if not crores, to the agencies for door-to-door waste collection over the last three years without implementing the codal formalities in both letter and spirit.
Serious questions have come up to the fore in the corridors of the civic body. One, did the civic body comply with the mandatory codal formalities while engaging the two agencies “ Green Globe and Bapu Environmental Social Service organisation, to collect the waste door-to-door.
A senior MMC official claimed that Green Globe was engaged by the civic body after inviting bids from prospective labour contractors. The question, however, that arises is whether Green Globe was engaged for a period of one year or for perpetuity? And, how many extensions did Green Globe get from the civic body to continue the waste collection job till date when the tender was meant for only one year?
That’s not all. How come the Margao Municipality gave the extensions, if any, when the civic body is mandated by rules to float a normal tender for works above Rs 50,000 and an e-tender when the work amount exceeding Rs 5 lakh?
This further brings to the fore the moot question how come the MMC has paid lakhs of rupees, if not crores, to the agencies without implementing the tendering process in both letter and spirit.
Interestingly, sources say Green Globe had submitted a letter to the civic body expressing its inability to continue the door-to-door waste collection work. MMC officials haven’t explained how come the same contactor continues to carry out the work of door-to-door waste collection and whether the agency was roped in again via a tendering process.
As far as the second agency, Bapu Environmental Social Service organisation is concerned, the Margao Municipal Babus owe an explanation to Madgavkars and Fatordekars when did the civic body invite the tender for the door-to-door waste collection work before the work was awarded to the agency or whether the agency was roped in without complying with the codal formalities?
An official in the know had a simple question to the authorities “ if the civic body is now bracing up to float an over Rs 5 crore tender to outsource door-to-door waste collection, why was this process not followed in both letter and spirit or whether the City Fathers and Babus tweaked the mandatory codal formalities to keep the political masters in good humour?
The Director, Urban Development Gurudas Pilarnekar, in separate orders, has accorded Administrative nod to the Margao Municipal Council to utilise an amount of over Rs 5 crore under the Fourteenth Finance Commission grants for outsourcing of door-to-door waste collection in all the 25 Municipal wards. Whether the Director, Urban Development will call for the records from the civic body on the utilisation of funds is to be seen.
SCM knocks HC doors for relief over payments to agencies
MARGAO: The Shadow Council for Margao has decided to knock the doors of the High Court for relief over the payments made by the Margao Municipal Council for door-to-door waste collection without complying with the codal formalities.
The Shadow Council for Margao had served a notice on the MMC Chairperson and the Chief Officer to refrain from making any further payments from the Municipal treasury to the door-to-door waste collection agencies.
SCM convenor Savio Coutinho told The Goan that the civic body did not pay heed to the NGO’s notice to refrain from making the payments to the two agencies, Green Globe and Bapu. “The SCM has decided to file a public interest litigation in the High Court seeking the intervention of the High Court to the payments made by the civic body to the agencies,” he said.
Coutinho has suspected that the civic body is gearing up to e-tender the door-to-door waste collection now, apparently to take advantage of the new rate prescribed by the government for garbage collection work. “We will bring before the High Court all issues, ranging from not complying with the codal formalities to the issue of alleged fraudulent bills relating to the work,” Coutinho added.
