TEAM HERALD
CANACONA: Chief Officer Praveen Barad and Municipal Engineer Nitin Kurtarkar are expected to occupy the two sensitive posts at the Canacona Municipal Council (CMC), with the government tightening its scrutiny on construction licenses in Canacona in the aftermath of the Canacona building tragedy.
Twelve days after the CMC went into turmoil following the collapse of Ruby Residency building at Chaudi and the subsequent suspension of two key officers at CMC, the State government posted a full-fledged municipal engineer and a chief officer with additional charge.
Reliable sources informed that Nitin Kurtakar has been posted at CMC as the new municipal engineer, while Cuncolim Municipal Council Chief Officer Praveen Barad has been given additional charge of CMC.
It may be recalled that two days after the Ruby Residency incident, the CMC ME Ajay Naik Dessai was suspended for illegally issuing ’Occupancy Certificate’ to the collapsed building without obtaining Structural Stability Certificate.
Soon after the search and recovery operations ended at the site, Prashant Shirodkar, who in his capacity as Deputy Collector (Canacona) was monitoring the search and recovery operations till the last moment, was swiftly arrested by Canacona police for allegedly signing the ‘Occupancy Certificate’ in a fraudulent manner in his capacity as CMC chief officer.
The absence of two key officers at CMC brought day-to-day affairs of the municipality to a grinding halt, paralyzing the southernmost civic body in the State.
Sources informed that the new orders, which were issued by the govt late Wednesday, were conveyed to the office of CMC on Thursday.
In a related development, Ajit Panchwadkar will be the new Deputy Collector of Canacona. Reliable sources informed that Panchwadkar went to his office on Thursday and even attended to a few official obligations pertaining to his office.
Meanwhile, unhappiness is brewing within the taluka’s government staff over the arrest of the Canacona Deputy Collector Prashant Shirodkar, who was partially held responsible for the collapse of Ruby Residency.
“The staff is outraged that the government utilized Shirodkar’s services as Deputy Collector at the search and recovery operations under the supervision of the Collector (South) till the very end, before arresting him, immediately after the recovery operations had ended,” said a source.
