Seizing the opportunity of the weekend holiday, workers were seen desperately erecting the stall as fast as possible to evade the attention of Almeida and the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) authorities.
Speaking to Herald, a MMC official said a roving handcart selling seasonal food products was earlier stationed at the site.
“As the owner could not carry out the trade, this handcart was lying idle. Then, a North Indian who was working as a barber started eyeing a vacant space at the old power house and with the help of two agents from North India, purchased this handcart for a handsome sum of Rs 2 lakh,” said the MMC official.
“Since then, the two agents have been making rounds of the MMC office to get the handcart stationed at the old power house and convert it into a barber’s shop.”
“Former MMC chief officer Agnelo Fernendes rejected the proposal. Following the transfer of Fernandes, a permanent shop was erected at the old power house without valid permission from the council,” the official added.
When Y B Tawde took over as the new MMC chief officer, he immediately directed his staff to remove the illegal shop. However, the shop was erected again and instead of seizing the material, Tawde merely directed his staff to
ask the culprit to dismantle
the shop.
The file was then kept in abeyance by outgoing Chief Officer Megnath Porob, but shortly before his transfer, he cleared many files, including the file of the illegal shop.
Taking advantage of the weekend holiday, hectic construction activity was seen to erect the shop in order to complete it before Monday.
While the work was in progress, a complaint was filed with Vasco Police and a police team later went to the site and ordered labourers to stop work on the project.
Meanwhile, the Vasco MLA has decided to take action against the shop. “I will file a complaint with the Directorate of Municipal Administration and will seek a review of files cleared in a hurry by the outgoing chief officer. Also, I will direct the new MMC chief officer act immediately,” he said.
