Team Herald
VASCO: Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) will soon receive outstanding dues amounting to Rs 18 crore and also a prime land admeasuring more than 9000 sqmtslocated in the port town from an oil tanking company operating within MMC’s jurisdiction.
Both these decisions have come as a major relief to the cash-strapped municipality.
After chairing the ordinary council meeting, MMCChairperson Leo Rodrigues informedmediapersons that the proposed multi-level car parking at the municipal garage would now be scrapped and replaced with a multi-storeyed commercial complex.
He said that the major issue discussed during the meeting was long pending recovery of an oil tanking company amounting to crore of rupees and which was caught up in a legal battle. He said that the company has now agreed for one-time settlement and will pay Rs18 crore and also return 9000-odd sqmts of land to the Council.
Rodrigues further said that the Mormugao municipal council had calculated rate of interest on outstanding due at 18 per cent for a period of 25 years from 1997 to 2022, but the company showed its willingness to pay at 12 per cent interest. “We discussed the issue in the meeting and we have resolved that we will now write to them (company) stating that we will last calculate at 15 per cent rate of interest and finalise the outstanding recovery amicably,” he stated.
Referring to the proposed multi-level car parking project at the municipal garage site, Rodrigues said that some councillors pointed out that a similar projects built at Panjim and other places were not generating income and had become white elephants. “Accordingly the meeting resolved to scrap the project and to construct a multi-storeyed commercial complex by revising the proposal. The proposed commercial complex will be a six-storeyed building,” he added.
The MMC Chairperson also informed that the council has decided to permit traditional week-long fair for the ensuing DamodarSaptah festival at Vasco after receiving written permission from the Saptah Celebrations Committee. Also the rates for putting up stalls will not be hiked and existing rates will be charged for locals and furniture stalls owing to the COVID-19 pandemic situation for the last two years.
