the goan I network
MARGAO
Absence of a full-fledged Chief Officer has come to haunt the Margao Municipal Council, three months after South Goa Additional Collector, Agnelo Fernandes assumed office as the A Class Civic body administrative head with an additional charge.
On July 14, the government had directed Additional Collector, South Agnelo Fernandes to hold charge of the Margao Municipal Council in additional to his own duties. Three months down the line, and the City Fathers as well as the Municipal administration have begun to feel the heat on the administrative front for want of a full-fledged Chief Officer.
During the last three months, Agnelo had been shuttling between the Matanhy Saldanha Administration complex housing the South Goa district Collectorate and the Margao Municipal Council to attend to duties in the district collectorate as well as in the A Class Civic body. He has been adjusting himself to the demands of work at the Collectorate and the Civic body, trying to strike a delicate balance, as he shuttles between the Collectorate and the Civic body every days since his posting three months ago.
Many in the corridors of the Civic body, including City Fathers, in private say that the Chief Officer's absence in the Civic body when it matters the most, has come in the way of smooth functioning of the Municipal administration.
In the absence of the Chief Officer for most of the time, given his preoccupation in the district
Collectorate, the Municipal administration, sources said has hit a low.
"There's absolutely no supervision over the administrative staff in the Civic body with the Chief Officer holed up in the Collectorate most of the time. The Chief Officer is also not available for the public during specific time, forcing members of the public to knock the doors Chairperson Babita Angle Prabhudesai and the City Fathers," remarked an official. In fact, the official pointed out that if the Councilors are accused of interfering in the day to day Municipal administration, it is primarily because of the absence of a full-fledged Chief Officer.
Sources in the know said the Chief Officer conducts the routine hearings fixed by the concerned staff and rushed out to the Collectorate to clear the files there. The Officer on Special Duty (OSD) appointed for the Margao Municipal Chairperson has to now required to execute another duty - the duty of carrying the official files from the Civic body to the Collectorate to obtain signature of the Chief Officer.
When The Goan called up Chairperson Babita Angle Prabhudesai to shed light on the problems arising out of the absence of a full-fledged Chief Officer to man the Civic body, she conceded that an A Class Municipality ought to have a full-fledged Chief Officer.
"Initially, even I had thought that a hardworking officer like Agnelo would fit the bill with the government appointing a part-time Chief Officer.
But, what we have found out that Agnelo is also required to put in his work in the Collectorate, as a result of which his absence is felt in the civic body. Even for a signature on the official files such as orders, we have to dispatch the files to the Collectorate," Babita said.
Replying to a question, the MMC Chairperson pointed out that she has spoken to the TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai to resolve the issue, with a plea to the government to appoint a full-fledged
Chief Officer at the Margao Municipal Council.
