Team Herald
PANJIM: Advocate Aires Rodrigues, who has challenged the nomination of two co-opt councillors to the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), has said that Kabir Makhija one of the two nominated as councillors has refunded to the CCP the honorarium of Rs 10,800 which was paid to him.
Makhija, in his reply before the High Court of Bombay at Goa to the petition, said that in the first week of April he was informed by the Mayor that he would like to propose his name as nominated councillor and had requested him to furnish his bio-data.
While stating that he had neither requested nor clamored for the post of nominated councillor, Makhija in his reply has further stated that he has played no role in his nomination besides tendering his bio-data. Makhija holds Diplomas in Civil Engineering and Business Management.
Adv Rodrigues in his petition before the High Court has stated that the appointment of Kabir Makhija and Kishor Sastry as nominated councillors was in total breach and violation of the CCP Act as both did not meet the requirement to be nominated as councillors not having the necessary special knowledge or experience in the required fields.
Adv Rodrigues has also submitted that in the absence of CCP inviting applications for being nominated the entire process of nominating Kabir Makhija and Kishor Sastry was murky and untenable.
The matter will next be heard on July 19.
