TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: “A” Class Margao Municipal Council went without a chief officer for the last two days bringing administration to a halt.
While Deepali Naik has taken charge as the Director of Civil supplies as per the government transfer order, her successor T Sawant is yet to take charge of his new posting. Citizens, who turned to the civic body for their official work returned home dejected, with no senior official around to attend to their grievances.
City Fathers too cried foul over the absence of the chief officer. Former vice chairperson Berta Cardozo said people of Margao are put to great hardships in the absence of a chief officer. Her colleague Councillor Tito Cardozo echoed similar sentiments. Tito said the government should come out with a policy to ensure that Municipal chief officers are not shunted out of the civic body every now and then. “Shuffling chief officers affects the civic administration,” he added.
MMC Chairperson Dayanand Deulkar confirmed that the civic body has faced a vacuum for the last two days for want of a chief officer. He, however, exuded confidence that the situation will return to normal after a day.
Incidentally, the civic body has brought the situation to the notice of the Director of Municipal Administration, who has promised to work out a solution in a day or two.
Sources in the DMA said the Chief Officer of Mormugao Municipal Council Y B Tawde may fill the void for the moment given that he is a link officer for Margao civic body. Tawde, sources said, has asked for an order to take additional charge of Margao Municipal Council, putting the government in a soup, since transfers and postings have now come under the purview of the Election Commission.
