The Margao Municipal Council has not maintained a register for orders issued regarding utility connections. Captured by : The Goan
MARGAO
Hazard a guess how many orders have been passed by the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) over the last two decades to issue water and power connections to structures under the Public Health Act? Did the MMC maintain a register of the hundreds, if not thousands of orders it passed issuing power and water connections to the applicants under the Public Health Act?
The Public Health Act mandates the notified authorities, including the municipalities, municipal corporations, panchayats etc., to pass an order for issuing water and power connections based on affidavits submitted by the applicants. Will the Margao municipal babus lay bare the register containing the affidavits in the public domain given that illegal constructions have now come under the High Court lens?
These and other questions have come to the fore with reports doing the rounds in the corridors of the civic body and outside that the Margao Municipal Council had issued orders for water and power connections to illegal structures with impunity.
Indeed, it’s a sheer coincidence that water and power connections issued under the Public Health Act have come under the government lens exactly two decades after the government had issued an Office Memorandum laying guidelines for passing orders to issue the connections. Post-High Court observations on illegal construction, authorities such as the power department have tightened the screws on orders passed by the power and water supply departments.
Consider this. It was exactly two decades ago on November 22, 2004, that the then Joint Secretary (Health) J S Monteiro had issued an Office Memorandum, waiving the requirement of the production of a No Objection Certificate from the Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council, or village panchayat for obtaining a water or electricity connection or sewage connection, as the purpose of granting such connections is only the maintenance and improvement of public health, i.e. from the angle of public health.
The Office Memorandum issued by the then Under Secretary, Health, is available in the Margao Municipal record books. Surprisingly, a register containing the orders issued by the civic body is not maintained by the civic body.
Resultantly, no official, right from the office of the Margao Municipal Chief Officer to the municipal engineer or the technical officials, has any idea of the number of orders passed by the civic body to grant water and power connections.
The location of the houses that have obtained orders from the municipal body to avail the power and water connections also remains unknown, whether the houses are located on comunidade land, government land, or pure encroachments on private property.
On this count, senior MMC officials may face an embarrassing question “ how would the civic body compile the data on the number of orders passed under the Public Health Act if the High Court issues directions to submit information on the power and water connections issued under the Act?
A senior MMC official conceded that the MMC has not maintained a dedicated register to record the number of orders passed by the civic body under the Public Health Act. He, however, hastened to add that the orders passed by the civic body may run into thousands, further admitting that files for passing orders under the Public Health Act had come mostly from the political class.
Govt moves to streamline process for connections amid HC scrutiny
Given the stringent observation of the High Court regarding the release of water supply and electricity connections to illegal structures on properties including government land, the government has proposed to streamline the process of granting electricity and water connections so that illegal structures do not misuse the provisions of law for availing these connections.
In a note issued to the PWD Principal Chief Engineer and Chief Electrical Engineer, Under Secretary, Finance Pranab Gajanan Bhat has pointed out there are already prevailing rules and regulations for granting electricity and water supply connections of the respective departments. Hence, there must not be any further requirement for additional provisions for granting these connections.
The notice stated: “Hence, in order to regulate the grant of electricity and water supply connections to all the consumers, it is proposed that for granting permissions for the release of such connections, all applications shall be processed as per the rules and regulations of the department for providing these connections.”
It added: “Apart from these, for applications received under the provisions of other Acts/Regulations apart from the regulations existing in the department, the same shall be decided by the Head of Department, i.e., PCE and CEE on merits, without contravening the provisions of the rules and regulations of the department. Departments (need) to formulate guidelines for implementing the same.”
What Nov 22, 2004 Office Memorandum says on the Public Health Act
The Nov 22, 2004, Office Memorandum regarding the Public Health Act provides essential guidelines for granting water, electricity, and sewage connections. Key points include waiving the requirement for a No Objection Certificate from local authorities, as the primary purpose of these connections is the maintenance and improvement of public health. The memorandum mandates that relevant authorities examine applications and conduct site inspections if necessary, ensuring connections are justified on public health grounds in accordance with Section 94 A of the Act.
It specifies the jurisdiction of Chief Officers of Municipal Councils and the Commissioner of Panaji, who are empowered to act within their respective areas. If there is a delay or failure to act on applications, the memorandum directs that they should be forwarded to the District Collector for resolution.
