GUILHERME ALMEIDA
The stated objective behind the construction of the GSUDA funded commercial complex cum municipal hall was to put in place basic infrastructure in the town and also generate revenue for the cash-starved Cuncolim Municipal Council (CMC).
Strangely, though the project was completed in December 2011, the Cuncolim civic body is yet to earn any revenue by way of rent from the business establishments, causing it a huge annual loss amounting to lakhs of rupees.
It’s now exactly a year since the Cuncolim civic body had auctioned the shops, but revenue is yet to flow into the civic coffers. Around 3-4 successful bidders are believed to have taken possession of the shops, but the municipality has not benefited in terms of revenue.
CMC Chief Officer Pandarinath Naik claims that some of the bidders, including a banking institution, have now returned the shops to the civic body.
Asked to outline the reasons behind the unusual situation, wherein the civic body does not receive any rent from the leased out establishments, the chief officer attributed this to the non-payment of conversion fees amounting to a whopping Rs 38 lakh.
“The civic body has moved the district Collector to obtain the conversion sanad. We have to get the occupancy certificate for the building,” he said.
When his attention was drawn to reports that around 3-4 shops are occupied by the bidders, the Chief Officer disclosed plans to put up the issue before the next council meeting for an appropriate decision.
The commercial complex cum municipal project was initiated during the tenure of former Urban Development Minister and Cuncolim MLA Joaquim Alemao. Completed around November 2011, Alemao, however could not commission the project since the Election Code of Conduct came into force around the same time.
The huge loss of revenue for the Cuncolim civic body has now come under the scanner of the Accountant General, Goa. The audit has pegged the loss of revenue for 17 months from April 2013 to August 2014 to Rs 34.69 lakh.
Interestingly, while the completion certificate for the project was issued by GSUDA in December 2011, technical clearance order for commercial use of the building/hall was issued by the Town Planning Department in December 2013 – two years after the completion of works and the inauguration of the project in February 2013.
The audit has observed that though the works were completed way back in December 2011, possession of the building was taking over only during February 2013 – after a delay of 14 months.
Activist Ronny Dias said the government should immediately fix responsibility for causing loss to the civic body.
“Someone in the municipality should own up responsibility for causing huge loss to the civic body. The audit report is clear that the civic body has suffered a huge loss”, he added.
