CANACONA: Outgoing Canacona Municipal Council (CMC) Chairperson Mahadev Desai said frequent changes of chief officers had affected developmental works in the municipality.
Addressing a news conference Desai said, “Even though my tenure had ups and down, I leave with the satisfaction that I was able to get maximum amount of Rs 2.77 crore developments grants to the council in just 10 months, which this council never witnessed before.”
“In September, I managed to get grants of Rs 1.08 crore, and the projects are now either completed or underway, while in March, developmental grants of Rs 1.69 crore were delayed for tendering due to election code of conduct,” said Desai.
“Certain of my dreams were left in the pipeline including re-assessment of house tax and other tax structures to bring more revenue, but what really hindered actual development were frequent changes of chief officers. During my short stint of 10 months, I had to work with four different chief officers. By the time any undertaken work was understood by the chief officer, he was transferred and the new one had to acquaint himself with the job on hand,” stated Desai.
“The Ruby Residency building collapse tragedy and long duration of the election code of conduct virtually brought the entire municipal administration to a halt for well over five months.”
“Since the January 4 Ruby residency incident, barring one or two (not so significant) files, not a single noteworthy construction file was processed. The absence of municipal engineer too hindered further works,” said Dessai.
