MARGAO
Over a decade after the government sanctioned the Golden Jubilee Goa Liberation Day celebration grant to set up a signature project, the Margao Municipal Council deliberated on the question of returning the Rs three crore grant to the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA).
A decision on the issue, however, was deferred after councillors led by Ganashyam Shirodkar pointed out that the civic body was not clear whether the grant should be returned to the department of Art and Culture or directly to GSDUA.
Ganashyam pointed out that it is indeed a shame that the civic body could not utilize the grant over the last one decade. He questioned the Chairperson how the council can return the grant to the GSUDA when it was sanctioned by the Department of Art and Culture.
Even as it was decided to defer the matter to a future date, councillors, in one voice, said the council should only return the grant amount minus the interest. While the MMC had received a grant of Rs three crore, the amount has not gone up to around Rs 5.5 crore after the computation of interest.
The council wanted to utilise the amount for the construction of a parking lot.
