When the Margao Municipal Council prematurely withdrew a fixed deposit certificate amounting to Rs 90 lakh, many an eyebrow was raised over the financial position of the `A’ category civic body. But, that was not the first time that the civic body had resorted to premature withdrawal of fixed deposits to pay the employee’s salaries.
Presently, the MMC fixed deposits is pegged at around Rs 25.5 crore – a figure that has now come down from Rs 30 crore on account of premature withdrawals in recent times. Sources in the know said that the major component of the civic expenses goes towards the salary bill. Of the total average monthly expenditure of around 1.40 crore, salaries account for nearly Rs 1.20 crore, inclusive of the payments to the 170 daily wage workers employed on the door to door waste collection project.
Senior municipal officials in the know, however, say that the civic body had to go for premature withdrawal of the fixed deposits for want of timely receipt of salary grant and octroi from the Goa government. This assumes significance given that the ruling body takes pride in saying that it enjoys close rapport with the government, especially with Urban Development Minister, Francis D’Souza.
Inquiries have revealed that the civic body has only recently received one out of the three Octroi instalment amounting to Rs 1.67 crore, but no one in the civic body knows for sure when the municipality would receive the balance octroi instalments and salary grant.
