VASCO: A special meeting of the Mormugao Municipal Corporation (MMC) held on Friday witnessed an effort to find a middle ground regarding Hindustan Petroleum’s (HP) pending dues. During the meeting, a resolution was passed to allow HP to pay Rs 15 crore under a one-time settlement scheme to MMC.
The case regarding the dues has been lingering in court, but both HP and MMC are now attempting to find a mutually agreeable solution. The efforts have been facilitated by Minister Mauvin Godinho and Vasco MLA Daji Salkar. The file pertaining to the arrears came back to MMC twice previously, leading to the convening of this meeting to discuss the comments received. MMC’s officials from the accounting and tax division actively participated in the discussion.
According to MMC’s records, Hindustan Petroleum owes the municipal council Rs 28 crore, while HP claims they had agreed to pay an amount less than 15 crore rupees based on their records. The proposed resolution will be forwarded to the Directorate of Urban Development (Municipal Administration), which will determine the future course of action in the case.
Chairperson Girish Borkar emphasized the financial challenges faced by the municipality, stating that receiving fifteen crore rupees would help resolve various pressing issues. It could address pending payments to workers and even clear the pension dues of retired workers. Borkar appealed to Minister Mauvin Godinho and MLA Daji Salkar to expedite the clearance of files and bring a swift resolution to the matter.
