Team Herald
MARGAO: Margao Municipal Council (MMC) Chief Officer Johnson Fernandes has clarified that the deputy collector was the authority to decide on the cutting of trees that were dangerous and assured councillors he would constantly follow up regarding the matter.
The matter came up for discussion at MMC on Friday, where councillors demanded that the municipal engineer should supervise the cutting of trees.
The chief officer also asked councillors to submit a list of dangerous trees, which he said would be inspected by the engineer, after which details would be sent to the deputy collector. In any case, private trees and trees in private property cannot be touched unless so ordered by the Deputy Collector, he added.
JICA-sponsored Work: MMC has also decided to call the JICA officials and ask them to clear all the drains that have been covered due to the ongoing work of laying the sewerage line. .
Garage Protection: The council decided to repair the MMC garage at old market and also provide it protection probably with barbed wire fence, as five batteries were recently stolen.
The chairperson said the performance of the security agency will have to be reviewed as the security person posted there was often drunk and did not report for duty.Drivers meeting: As the councillors pointed out that municipal drivers often loiter in the building when they were required to deal with garbage, it was decided to call for a meeting with the drivers to see how best their services can be utilized.
Street Vendors Survey: The Chief Officer’s suggestion to ask Transerve to undertake the survey of street vendors was accepted. The surveyors would be paid Rs 50 per sheet and would have to survey all street vendors, including seasonal ones and those who keep shifting from place to place.
Illegal Houses: It was decided to grant an extension till June 30, to assess the illegal houses for tax and the administrative staff was asked to clear all pending files as on date.
Road Gang Workers: Following protests from councillors it was decided not to shift road gang workers from their workplace and use contract labourers to deal with the fairs erected at SGPDA grounds during the feasts of Holy Spirit Church.
The chairperson disclosed there was an increase of 10 per cent in the fees charged for people putting up stalls at the feast.
ROOTS Pavement Cleaner: The MMC decided to purchase two pavement cleaning machines from ROOTS, which two of the councillors also used.
While initially only two machines will be purchased at the price of around Rs 25,000 each, later more would be purchased, depending the discount offered by the company.
