Team Herald
MARGAO: The Shadow Council Margao (SCM) has taken strong objection to Margao Municipal Council’s (MMC) proposal to execute the pre-monsoon desilting work through a tender at a total expenditure of Rs 25 lakh.
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The Shadow Council Margao said, “Through media reports, we learn that the MMC wishes to undertake pre-monsoon work of desilting of drains. Further we have also learnt that the government has granted permission to the council to utilise Rs 15 lakh from the Finance Commission grants for the said work.”
“We wish to draw your kind attention that the government has made a clear suggestion that the services of the unemployed labour could be utilised for the said work. However, we are compelled to draw to a conclusion that the council has vested interests in their proposal to execute the work by inviting tenders at a total cost of Rs 25 lakh,” Savio Coutinho of Shadow Council said.
“Every successive year, this council has been giving the same old reason of unavailability of workers to carry out works departmentally. And each year, this Council has been doing the formality of tendering the desilting work however the works have never started before the onset of monsoon. The haphazard work of desilting has always commenced in July, by which time the rain Gods may have completed the flushing of 50% of the drains. However, full bills towards the tendered work get paid to the concerned contractors,” the SCM complained.
“This time due to COVID-19 lockdown, there are hundreds of workers at the shelter at the Indoor Stadium at Colmorod. Of these workers, even if around 75 to 100 workers are “selected”, the desilting work can be commenced immediately,” it said.
The workers would be ever ready to work for the present wages of 500 per day, which is also paid to the daily wage workers of the road gang,” it suggested.
The SCM has demanded that the council undertake the pre-monsoon desilting work by engaging the unemployed workers. In doing so, there shall be early commencement of the work, and so also the council shall be saving a huge amount of the targeted expenditure of Rs 25 lakh. Early commencement, during the lockdown period, will also enable faster progress of work and speedy clearance of the excavated silt from the drains.
