TEAM HERALD
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MARGAO: Margao Municipal Chief Officer Deepali Naik’ s 48 hour deadline on city fathers to submit list of duplicate works expired on Wednesday, but the fiat has drawn sharp reactions from the MLAs of Margao and Fatorda, with MLA Vijai Sardesai asserting that the chief officer should have done the exercise before floating the e-tender.
In another development, the chief officer on Wednesday served memos on the municipal junior engineers in respect of the e-tender, serving 48 hours time to the JEs to reply to the notice.
Sources said that former chief minister and Margao MLA Digambar Kamat was outraged over the deadline served by the chief officer on the elected councillors. He is believed to have spoken to MMC officials as well as the Fatorda MLA over the state of affairs in the civic body.
Commenting on the chief officer’s 48 hour deadline, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardessai wondered why the chief officer was showing undue haste now in getting reports from the city fathers on the duplication of works. “The chief officer should have sought details from the councillors before floating the e-tender. The fact that the municipal technical section has revealed that five of the tendered works stand partially completed shows the ground reality,” Sardesai said.
The chief officer, however, defended her decision to seek reports from the councillors, saying she has to submit a detailed report to the urban development minister and the chief minister on e-tendering. “My office has received reports from 10 Councillors, while the remaining city fathers might have submitted their reports to the Chairperson,” she said.
