MARGAO: At a special meeting held on Thursday, the Margao Municipal Council resolved to file an affidavit before the High Court so that the civic body does not become liable, even as the Directorate of Municipal Administration had bailed it out by depositing Rs 2.73 crore from its unspent funds, pertaining to the Colmorod land acquisition case.
Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar informed the council that senior
lawyer Sandesh Padiyar withdrew from the case and hence the case has been handed over to new lawyer Parag Rao.
The councillors gave the Chairperson and Chief Officer a free hand to prepare an affidavit in consultation with Adv Rao, which will be submitted before the High Court in the next hearing scheduled on January 10. Shirodkar added that the civic body will not go for land acquisition for the said road.
The Chairperson told reporters that with the court insisting that the amount of Rs 2.73 crore be deposited as per its earlier orders and the civic body facing a funds-crunch, the DMA came to the rescue and paid the amount.
It may be recalled that the civic body had found itself in troubled waters when the High Court directed it to deposit Rs 2.73 crore in the court, wherein at a special meeting called to deliberate on the issue in the month of December, the city fathers had resolved to drop the land acquisition proceedings to avoid paying the hefty sum.
