Team Herald

MARGAO: Concerns have been raised about the possibility of the land belonging to Margao Municipal Council (MMC) being grabbed or encroached upon by third parties while the civic body has also come under criticism for not having looked into this issue earlier.

Incidentally, just recently it was revealed at a council meeting that materials from the MMC’s garage had been stolen and that illegal activities such as gambling were taking place at other MMC properties.

In view of the recent cases of land grabbing coming to light across the State, the MMC CO has taken a decision to form special teams to inspect the MMC’s properties.

However, questions have been raised if this action is taken too late and why the MMC did not have a thorough and updated inventory of its properties.

“One side, the MMC has been pulling up citizens for various issues such as house tax etc and we are expected to have all our documents and information in place. If we are late, there is a penalty. What happens if the land has been grabbed or encroached on? Who will be held accountable? Is this what we pay tax for? What were the officials doing all this time?,” asked Reynold Fernandes from Margao.

Given that the MMC has suffered setbacks in its recent legal disputes, concerns have also been raised about the high costs the MMC would incur to fight any potential land grabbing or encroachment case in the courts.

“The MMC is unable to go ahead with much-needed projects like the multi-pay parking. There is so much the MMC can do with the land for the benefit of the public. The MMC should be earning revenue from these properties too. This is a sad state of affairs that they are not sure if their properties could be grabbed or not in the first place,” added Sanket Dessai, another local resident.