the goan I network
MARGAO
The Margao Municipal Council will re-open on Wednesday after the Ganesh holidays, but the task appears cut out for the civic body on the Sonsodo imbroglio.
For, the civic body has not only given an undertaking to the court to clear the payments due to Fomento, including the Rs 1 lakh per day as operational cost of running the Sonsodo waste treatment plant, but to make the payments within a time-frame. Moreover, the Council has sought three-week time from the court to work out the modalities of settlement/payment as per the termination notice issued by Fomento.
Sources in the civic body said the question that remains unanswered is whether the Municipality will call for a council meeting to ratify the decision of the Municipal lawyer and Chief Officer Sidhivinayak Naik to pay the operational cost of Rs 1 lakh per day to Fomento before making the payments. For, last week’s special meeting had only given its nod for the payment of 10 per cent of the termination payment amounting to around Rs 14 crore, with councillors in private saying the issue of the payment of Rs 1 lakh per day to Fomento for running the Sonsodo plant was not discussed at the meet.
When The Goan called up MMC acting Chairperson Tito Cardozo to shed light on the emerging developments on Sonsodo in view of the undertakings given by the officials in the court, he said the Chief Officer is expected to explain the developments that unfolded in the court last week.
When specifically asked whether the Municipality will make the payments without the nod of the Council when the question of operational cost was not discussed at last week’s special meeting, Tito insisted that major payments are effected only with the approval of the Council, adding that all these issues will be discussed with the Chief Officer later
this week.
MMC officials pointed out that the court order is clear that though the civic body has agreed to certain payments, including the operational cost of Rs 1 lakh per day, all the payments are without prejudice to the rights of the respective parties and subject to the decision of the matter before the district court as well as before the
Arbitral Tribunal or any higher authorities, including the
High Court.
A glance at the order of South Goa district Judge BP Deshpande states that both Fomento and MMC had agreed that Fomento shall continue to run the plant for a period of one month from September 1-30 as a temporary and ad hoc arrangement and during that period, the MMC shall pay the expenses/operating cost at the rate of Rs 1 lakh per day to Fomento for carrying out day-to-day activities in the plant.
The MMC has also agreed to pay to Fomento the operational expenses at the rate of Rs 1 lakh per day for a period of 22 days, from August 10, from the date of the termination of the contract till date since the company has been carrying out the operation of the plant as per the order of the court. While the court has asked Fomento to issue an invoice of the amount within a period of one week, from September 4, the MMC has been ordered to pay to the company through RTGS payment.
Judge Deshpande, however, said all the payments as disclosed above are without prejudice to the rights of the respective parties and subject to the decision in this matter as well as before the Learned Arbitral Tribunal or any higher authorities, including the High Court.
