MARGAO: Showing tearing hurry, Margao city fathers approved the budget estimates for the current financial year within minutes and without much discussion.
In fact, while the council meeting on Wednesday spent around two hours to discuss trivial and petty issues, the budget estimates received the go-ahead signal from the city fathers within 5-10 minutes.
In fact, when the budget estimates were finally placed for discussion at the meeting, the proposals were read out by the Accounts and Taxation Officer, Mr Helekar. There was not much discussion on the budget estimates.
, with former Chairperson Arthur D’Silva and Councillor Tito Cardozo, both contractors by profession, raising the issue of contractor’s EMD with the civic body. Besides, there was a token discussion on revenue recovery, which otherwise ought to have dominated discussions on the budget proposal.
Earlier, Chairperson Dayanand Deulkar informed the council that the budget estimates could not be approved before the commencement of the current financial year in view of the coming into force of the election code of conduct.
Incidentally, the city fathers grilled the Municipal Chairperson on a host of issues plaguing the civic body before the budget was taken up for discussion. Councillor Joseph Silva set the ball rolling by demanding to know from the chairperson his achievements during his six-month tenure. Even as the chairperson tried to reply to Silva, former Chairperson Arthur D’Silva sought to know from Deulkar the status on the Sonsodo waste treatment plant. Deulkar was grilled on the covering of the Sonsodo site and the delay in distributing dust bins to the city fathers, even as Pratima Coutinho sought to know the status of the door-to-door waste collection program.
The meeting witnessed fire works on the controversial issue of a food court mooted at the parking land at the Old Market. Heated arguments ensued between councillor Raju Naik, who contended that the proposal was rejected at the last meeting,and Councillor Doris Texeira, who maintained that the proposal was never rejected, but was only objected by Arthur at the last meeting. While Raju demanded that the proposal be rejected, Doris called for postponing a decision on the controversial issue, even as the chairperson ruled that the proposal stands rejected on condition that councillor Gonzaco Rebello is free to move the proposal afresh at the next meeting.
