MAPUSA
Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) Chairperson Shubangi Vaigankar was forced to eat a humble pie and postpone a council meeting scheduled for Thursday after a councillor of the opposition-backed panel pointed out to the procedural lapse in issuing notices to the councillors.
The special council meeting has now been rescheduled on June 7.
As per procedures, councillors have to receive notices seven days in advance for ordinary council meetings, three days in advance for special council meetings and one day in advance for emergency council meetings.
Vaigankar had issued a notice for a special council meeting on Thursday and circulated it to all the 20 councillors.
Opposition-backed councillor, Shashank Narvekar, received the notice on June 1 which was just two days before the meeting, instead of the required three days.
Narvekar objected to the council meeting stating that it was not in accordance with the law.
“The notice issued by you has been misinterpreted and not as per the provisions of the Municipal Act. This can be challenged in court. Also, the number of members of the standing and subject committee has to be fixed for the special meeting and only then can elections be held for these committees,” said Narvekar, who is an advocate by profession.
He demanded that the meeting, to be held on June 3, should be cancelled.
The chairperson was forced to withdraw the notice and issue a fresh notice calling for the special meeting on June 7 at 12 noon.
The incident has come as a major embarrassment for the chairperson who had taken over the reins of the council just a few days back.
Incidentally, Shashank Narvekar is the son of former MMC chairperson Subash Narvekar.
