Agitated MMC councillors question offer of `1 lakh per day to Fomento

Insist on criteria adopted by CO to arrive at amount before giving undertaking in court

| SEPTEMBER 06, 2019, 02:48 AM IST
Agitated MMC councillors question offer of `1 lakh per day to Fomento

the goan I network

MARGAO

Agitated Margao Municipal councillors on Thursday questioned the offer of the civic body to pay an amount of Rs 1 lakh per day to Fomento in lieu of the treatment of daily waste from August 10, with the City Fathers insisting to know the criteria adopted by Chief Officer Sidhivinayak Naik to arrive at the amount before giving the undertaking in the district court.

The Chief Officer, however, insisted that the district court’s order wherein the civic body had agreed to pay to Fomento Rs 1 lakh per day for treatment of waste from August 10-31 will be implemented in both letter and spirit. Naik sought to allay apprehensions raised by the Municipal councillors and citizenry at large that the civic body by referring to district court’s order, stating that all the payments are without prejudice to the rights of the respective parties and subject to the decision in this matter as well as before the Learned Arbitral Tribunal or any higher authorities, including the 

High Court.

Incidentally, the Chief Officer explained that the civic body has now asked Fomento to give a break-up of the waste treatment expenses as the company has raised a bill of Rs 22 lakh for the period from August 10-31 for treating the waste supplied by the MMC at the Sonsodo plant.

Incidentally, many a councillor told the Chief Officer to go back to the court at the next date of hearing scheduled on September 30 with a plea to revise the treatment cost from Rs 1 lakh per day to around Rs 25000-30,000 per day. 

The Chief Officer, however, pointed out that the civic body would go by the district court order, while reassuring the council that the payments made by the civic body will be subject to the court decision as well as the the matter before the Arbitral Tribunal and the High Court.

At the special meeting convened by Acting Chairperson, Tito Cardozo to specifically discuss the issue of making payments to Fomento for the treatment of city waste from August 10, the day when the termination notice came into effect till August 31.

Councillors demanded to know how the Chief Officer worked out the amount of Rs 1 lakh per day when neither Fomento nor the High Court had insisted on the payment to the company in lieu of the treatment of the waste. Councillor Ketan Kurtarkar, Avinash Shirodkar, Angelus Pereira, Jaffar Budani and Rupesh Mahatme wondered how the civic body had arrived at the Rs 1 lakh figure for the treatment of the daily waste. They demanded an explanation from the Chief Officer how the civic body has agreed to pay an uniform amount of Rs 1 lakh per day when the waste supplied by the MMC varies every day. Cornered by the City Fathers, the Chief Officer assured the councillors that the interest of the civic body has not been compromised in the court.

When councillor Rupesh Mahatme sought to know whether the Chief Officer has worked out any action plan to mop up revenue to make the payments to Fomento, Naik explained that the civic body can mop up revenue to the tune of Rs 5 crore if the house tax defaulters clear the tax dues to the Municipality.

Later, during the media briefing, the Chief Officer declined to shed light on the offer made by the civic body to pay Fomento at the rate of Rs 1 lakh per day. As he insisted that he will go by the court order, the media reminded the Chief Officer that the court has gone by his submissions made in the open court on August 31.


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