Team Herald
MARGAO: Margao Municipal Council Chief Officer Johnson Fernandes today refused to budge on the decision to charge security deposit of Rs 10,000 for the use of Lohia Maidan for any purpose and pointed out that the money was returned to the user.
Social activists Felix Dias, Mahesh Naik and Lawry Abranches today called on the chief officer asking him to withdraw the decision to charge security deposit to users of Lohia Maidan. They pointed out that all these years such an amount was not charged and sought to know why it is being introduced now.
“After our programme is over some miscreant may come and cause damage and we stand to lose our money for no fault of ours as the MMC will deduct the damages caused from our security deposit,” they argued.
However, Johnson refused to budge on the issue and pointed out to them that the council has to unnecessarily spend money in cleaning the ground after any programme as it is inevitably littered with plastic after any programme.
“I have to deploy my staff to clean up the maidan after any programme held there because at the end of the programme while the organizers take away everything they had brought the waste that is thrown around by the people attending the programme is left for the council to clear,” he said.
