MAPUSA
Chairperson of Mapusa Municipal Council, Shubhangi Vaigankar on Tuesday said that in a short period of time after taking over the reins of the civic body, she managed to get government funds to the tune of Rs 5 crore besides clearing loans left behind by past councils.
Vaigankar also said that her council has taken proactive steps to put municipality property to good use and very shortly the shops which were not auctioned for various reasons in the past will be put to use.
“It’s very easy to make statements in hindsight. What have the past chairpersons done to make the municipality self-sufficient? Soon after taking over as the chairperson, I had the onerous task of clearing loans which was accumulated by the past councils. I have also brought funds of Rs 5 crores for various development works in town,” Vaigankar said.
The chairperson was reacting to the report in The Goan on the failure of the civic body to mop up resources despite several available avenues.
Vaigankar further disclosed that the shops on the two floors opposite the taxi-stand could not be auctioned because the health department had raised a query asking for the construction of a STP for the project.
“For almost six years none of the past chairpersons could take any action in the matter. I have moved the file now and very soon we are going to tender the work to construct a STP in the area,” she said.
She also said that the unused shops near the fish market could not be auctioned because of some technical query which has also been resolved now.
“I took over as the chairperson at a time when the Covid-19 crisis was still on and therefore could not get much time to accomplish desired works. We also lost a lot of time due to the code of conduct on account of the just concluded assembly polls,” she said.
“Despite facing certain issues we have managed to perform quite well. We will still do better as we move ahead with government help,” she added.
