It has been over a year since the N D Agrawal report picked holes in the procedure followed in the allotment of shops in the Panjim Municipal Market and named municipal officials and corporators of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) for irregularities. It also highlighted the various sins of omission and commission by officials and the advantages allowed and gleefully taken by illegal occupants of the municipal market.
Despite, the CCP crying hoarse over the fact that it does not have any money to maintain and develop the capital city, it still pays almost Rs 1 crore for maintenance and electricity bills for shops of which around 90 per cent could be illegally occupied.
And it has been doing so for the past 12 years without collecting any rent.
The sorry state of the administration and the influence of the vested interests seem to be so high that probably only the courts could take action on the issue, giving an indication of the level that politics has fallen to. And that too in the city that has been represented by former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar ever since the market complex was built and the CCP has been controlled for most of the time by a panel put together and owing allegiance to the person who hopes to replace Parrikar as MLA of Panjim.
“I have made commitments to the people of Panjim that I have not been able to fulfill. So I want to stand in Panjim,” Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate said, about his ambitions to contest the by-election from Panjim.
Last week, a PIL was filed seeking that the Mayor, the CCP Commissioner and the Director of Municipal Administration be directed to take immediate steps to recover rents due and payable in respect of the premises belonging to the CCP as also recovery of the arrears with interest that are due and payable by the occupants of the premises belonging to the CCP.
The PIL also wants the Court to direct the CCP to take steps to recover the premises, which are illegally occupied and upon recovery of possession to auction them and allot the same in accordance with law.
The PIL has been filed by citizens Alwyn D’Sa, Dattaram Desai, Krishnanath Chodencar, Aureliano D’Sa and Dr Rosario Menezes.
The petitioners say that if the current situation is permitted to continue, persons who are illegal occupants of premises belonging to the CCP will continue to derive benefits and the people of Panjim will be denied development on account of non-recovery of public money.
According to the petition, the CCP, which claims to be bankrupt when it comes to development and/or implementation of development schemes within its jurisdiction, “is apparently reluctant and not willing to recover the legitimate amount due from the occupants of the public premises” – the Panjim market and/or the other premises owned/belonging to the CCP and as a result of the inaction citizens are deprived of their right of development in Panjim.
The petition alleges that the CCP, instead of ensuring and taking steps in recovering the rentals/arrears from the premises owned by the CCP and/or taking steps to remove the illegal occupants of the premises belonging to the CCP and putting the premises belonging to the CCP to the best possible use, is burdening the citizens residing/having premises within the jurisdiction of the CCP by increasing the tax/house taxes five-fold.
The petitioners state that this act of the CCP amounts to uncalled for financial burden and premium on the occupants/illegal occupants of the premises belonging to the CCP.
They argue that “the aforesaid facts will disclose that the law abiding citizens/responsible citizens of Panjim are being punished and penalized in order to subsidize and pamper the defaulting unauthorized occupants of the Panjim municipal market.”
The petition accuses the office-bearers of not having initiated any action and not showing any willingness to initiate action in the matter for recovery of the dues and though some notices have been issued apparently calling for dues to be paid, they are not followed by with appropriate action and taken to a logical conclusion.
