CUNCOLIM: Cash-starved Cuncolim Municipal Council – whose coffers are literally empty with the civic body defaulting even to pay the staff salaries on time – apparently is in no haste to mop up revenue from its infrastructural projects executed in the town in recent years.
Otherwise, just consider this. This multi-crore community hall-cum-shopping complex was set for inauguration way back in November 2011 during the tenure of then urban development minister, Joaquim Alemao. Strange but true that, though the hall and the shopping complex was inaugurated a year later, revenue is yet to flow into the civic coffers till date – thanks to indifference and apathy on the part of the city fathers and the civic babus.
Herald inquiries have revealed that it took nearly two years for the civic body to auction 10 out of the 13 shops in the community hall complex. Sadly, though the shops were auctioned way back in February this year before the Lok Sabha Election Code of Conduct came into force, the Cuncolim civic body is yet to allot the shops to the highest bidders till date. In the bargain, the civic body had been losing around Rs 1.5 lakh revenue every month by way of rent.
When Herald contacted outgoing chairperson Devendra Desai to shed light on the delay in the allotment of shops, he placed the blame at the door of the civic administration. “I really do not know why the administration has delayed in giving possession of the shops to the bidders. Certainly, the election code of conduct cannot be an excuse for the delay,” he said.
Incidentally, Chief Officer Maya Pednekar maintained that her office has to carry out a detailed study of the process followed while auctioning the shops.
Inquiries revealed that the civic body had been passing through a financial crisis since the last few months. The civic body has not paid the staff salaries for the month of June for want of funds. The Municipality has knocked on the government doors for the salary grant and release of Octroi to help tide over the crisis. The monthly salary bill works out to around Rs 14 lakh, which includes the salaries of permanent employees, honorarium of the city fathers and the wages of the workers.
Incidentally, the civic body had pinned high hopes on the community hall to enrich its coffers, but in vain. Sources said there’s been few takers for the community hall for want of air conditioning facility. Though the hall is well suited for tiatr and other functions, many a tiatr producer has stayed away from hiring the hall for want of the AC facility. And, repeated pleas by the Cuncolim civic body to the government to install the air condition facility has not found favour with the powers that be.
