A look at MMC as Damu completes year as chief

Margao MLA Digambar Kamat and BJP Councillors wishing Margao Municipal Chairperson Damu Shirodkar after his election on October 12 last year.

MARGAO

He had made it to the coveted seat in controversial circumstances with the BJP-led government going to the extent of issuing an ordinance to pave way for election of civic chief by show of hands instead of the time-tested secret ballot.

With the strong backing of Congress-turned-Margao MLA Digambar Kamat and the support of 16-out of the 25 Margao City Fathers, Damu Shirodkar had assumed office of Margao civic chief on October 12 last year. His election also saw the lotus blooming again in the Margao Municipal Council after a gap of 17 long years.

A supporting MLA, who went all out to get his “right hand” man at the helm of the Margao Municipal Council, behind him, besides the party-led government in power, many a Madgavkar and Fatordekar must have had high expectations from the BJP-led Council, over the last one year,  hoping the civic body would resolve the perennial burning issues plaguing the commercial capital.

Take note, the new civic chief did go about the job of addressing the issues, including the garbage imbroglio, streamlining of Municipal administration, ensuring long-pending promotions to the Municipal employees, stress on recovery of huge outstanding revenue,  et al. The last one year also saw the High Court’s intervention at Sonsodo and at the wholesale fish market, indicating that the civic body was found wanting in maintaining hygiene, cleanliness and garbage disposal.

Sonsodo waste management shed full with waste.  (cap)  PIC 2

Sonsodo and garbage imbroglio

The High Court’s intervention to put Sonsodo back on the tracks has exposed the Margao Municipality's inability in addressing the perennial waste issue. While the Sonsodo legacy dump is almost remediated, thanks of close monitoring of the work by the High Court, the Court’s intervention vis-à-vis the wet waste has not only exposed the civic body in its failure to treat the wet waste, but set in motion the process to address the host of pending issues at Sonsodo.

Perhaps for the first time, Sonsodo waste is now disposed of to the Saligao treatment plant and the Cacora plant, indicating that the civic body and its army of officials have miserably failed to work out a solution to wet waste treatment.

Caught napping on a host of civic issues plaguing Sonsodo, directions by the High Court have now raised hopes of putting Sonsodo back on track. 

There’s, however, a long way to go for the Margao Municipal Council to completely resolve the Sonsodo tangle. The MMC has no mechanism to handle the daily wet waste and the civic body must be anxiously waiting for the Goa Waste Management Corporation to set up the proposed wet waste plant at Sonsodo.

On the waste collection front, the civic body finally inked an agreement with two private contractors, after extending contracts for around two years.

Parking woes

A year has elapsed since Damu had taken over the reigns of office, but work on the proposed multilevel parking lot is yet to take off behind the Margao Municipal building. During Damu’s predecessor Lyndon Pereira, the MMC had handed over the multilevel parking project to the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) for execution as a depositor work. 

Leave alone floating a tender the multi-level parking lot project is mired in a bitter controversy following the mysterious inclusion of a restaurant in the parking lot. The cost of the multilevel project has gone up from Rs six crore to a whopping Rs 10 crore.

When the GSUDA will float the tender and when the project will see light of the day still remains unknown.  Take note, the foundation stone for the multilevel parking project was laid eight years ago in 2015.

Stray dogs in the commercial capital, (cap) PIC 3

Stray dogs' problem

Come December 31 and it will be three years since the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Margao Municipal and an animal welfare NGO had lapsed. In the last three years, as many as four Municipal Chairpersons have presided over the affairs of the civic body, but a fresh MoU is still not in place, derailing the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme. It’s still unclear whether the civic body would float an Expression of Interest (EoI) to rope in a new contractor to take up the ABC programme or continue with the previous contractor remains unknown. The only positive news is that the MMC has extended its support to an animal welfare NGO, expected to take up massive sterilization programme in the city, in the coming days.

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Revenue recoveries

The new civic chief had reassured the citizens to tone up the revenue recovery mechanism to recover crores of outstanding tax arrears. No doubt, the administration did lay stress on revenue recoveries in the last one year, but the outstanding tax arrears still run into crores of rupees.

Chairperson Damu has realized the bitter truth that hundreds of commercial establishments are operating in the commercial capital without the mandatory trade license. And, there may be hundreds, if not thousands of households, which neither pay the house tax nor the garbage fees, but still enjoy civic amenities in the city.

Municipal administration

One promise the new Chairperson had handed out after assuming office was to streamline the offices to provide a people friendly and transparent administration. He had also promised to do justice to the Municipal employees awaiting promotions over the years. Take note, the civic body has ensured during his stint that a large number of employees, due for promotions over the years, were finally meted out justice. 

MMC’s move to recruit and fill up the 34 posts of LDCs, mason and workers, however, hit a block in controversial circumstances after the Director of Municipal Administration got the recruitment process cancelled and withdrawn.

On the other hand, the Margao civic body is yet to revive the biometric finger scan attendance for the employees despite government’s directives.

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PIC 4

Chairperson Damu Shirodkar speaks

"After assuming office, I set in motion a host of initiatives to resolve the Sonsodo imbroglio in the last one year. Sonsodo place is better today compared to a year ago after I had assumed office. The MMC has taken up a slew of works at Sonsodo, which would soon see light of the day at the waste dumping site."

"Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) took time to float a tender for the multilevel parking project. Then there was the controversy over the restaurant being proposed at the parking lot. Let me make it clear, the MMC has not proposed any restaurant at the multilevel parking lot. If any such proposal comes, the same will be discussed at the Council meeting."

"The MMC has tied up with a NGO to take up massive stray dog sterilization drive in the city. A decision will soon be taken on the question of inking MoU with a NGO to take up the Animal Birth Control programme."

"As far as the recruitment process is concerned, I would like to ask the government whether the Department of Urban Development can usurp the powers of a local autonomous civic body on recruitment of manpower."