MAPUSA: Following a complaint that its ex-employee has been carrying out an illegal construction on comunidade land, the Mapusa Municipal Council inspected the site and orally ordered the ex-employee to stop the work immediately.
However, the complainant says that after stopping the work for a day, the ex-employee has re-started the illegal construction work, which the complainant reportedly brought to the notice of the chief officer by personally meeting him.
In his complaint to the Chief Officer Clen Medeira, the complainant L J Deva stated that one Salim Sinha, who was employed as a driver with MMC, has been carrying out illegal construction at Gateshwar Nagar, Khorlim, Mapusa, without obtaining construction licence from the municipality and technical clearance from the Town and Country Planning Department.
Besides, according to the complainant, Salim Sinha has not only not maintained proper setback, but in fact has encroached on the road.
The site inspection was conducted by Tukaram Kaskar, an officer attached to the engineering section of the municipality, who also instructed the errant Salim Sinha to produce licence or permission, if he had any, before the engineering department of the municipality.
Meanwhile, local media quoted Mapusa Municipal Engineer Husain Shah Muzawar as saying that the municipality has taken action on the complaint filed by Deva and that his junior engineer has conducted a “site inspection and a report has been prepared for necessary action.”
According to sources, after working for the Mapusa municipality for some time, Salim Sinha is now employed in a government department as a driver.
Local enquiries revealed that the land at Gateshwar Nagar belongs to the local comunidade and consequently, most of the houses in that area are illegal.
However, according to the complaint, Salim Sinha being a government servant his case falls into an altogether different category. The complaint also states that Salim Sinha was apparently using his position and influence as government servant to carry out the illegal construction.
