TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: The Margao Municipal Council was left embarrassed on Friday after the civic body could not pay salaries to all the staff and employees as the government cheque pertaining to Octroi reached the civic body little late.
Resentment was palpable in the corridors of the civic body after the municipal cashier paid salaries to the workers first, leaving the staff and employees in the cold. Senior employees pointed out that this is the first time that salaries of all the civic workers and employees could not be cleared on one day for want of funds. The staff and employees called on Chief Officer Narayan Sawant to seek the status of the salary payments and to find out why the civic body has resorted to payments only for the workers.
Sawant gave the agitated employees a patient hearing, explaining that salaries could not be paid to all the workers and employees due to the technical hitch.
after the government cheque pertaining to the Octori reached the civic body late this evening. He reassured the workers that those who did not receive their salary payments would receive the same on Monday, saying the civic body has received the Octroi cheque from the government.
Employees, however, maintained that the civic body should have waited for the Octroi cheque to realise before disbursing salaries of all the employees and workers. A senior employee, who approached the cashier for his salary, was told to wait for some time as she was clearing the payments of the workers.
When contacted, the MMC chief officer said that the employees need not worry about the salary payments. “We have received the Octori, but there was a technical hitch since the bank received the same after 3.30 pm. If required, I can arrange the salary payment even on Saturday if there’s a request from the employees,” he said.
Sources in the know said the civic body started disbursement of the salaries from the funds in its coffers on the presumption that the Octori cheque from the government would be realised by noon, but the cheque could not be realised before 3.30 pm.
