MARGAO: In a clear sign of the ongoing tension between Margao Municipal Council (MMC) Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar and Chief Officer (CO) Gaurish Shankhwalkar, the Chairperson has squarely blamed the Municipal Administration for failing to gather enough revenue to cover staff salaries. Shirodkar expressed concern over this administrative lapse, highlighting the potential risk of MMC facing challenges like the Sanguem and Mormugao Municipalities due to delayed salary payments.
Shirodkar expressed frustration, stating he won’t accept any excuses for the revenue shortfall and said he discovered this issue when the staff informed him that the funds available are barely sufficient to cover the salaries.
The Chairperson pointed out that the monthly salary bill for the salaried employees at MMC amounts to a staggering Rs 1.80 crore, while the daily wage workers’ bill totals around Rs 40 lakh.
He questioned why the civic body faced such a situation despite having numerous officials and workers, pointing out that it’s the administration’s responsibility to monitor revenue recovery, not just his role as Chairperson. He mentioned the available staff, including municipal and sanitary inspectors under the CO, and questioned why these officials were not being utilised for revenue recovery efforts.
Additionally, Shirodkar criticised the administration’s disciplinary actions, noting that hardworking employees sometimes receive reprimands, while those reporting late for duty are given additional responsibilities.
The Chairperson pledged to address these administrative issues with Margao MLA Digambar Kamat and the government to ensure such financial crises do not repeat.
Furthermore, councillor Mahesh Amonkar who is part of Shirodkar’s ruling panel of councillors hit out at the unavailability of the Chief Officer for the problems connected to the poor revenue recovery of the civic body and that the municipal staff too are facing delays with their salaries. He alleged that the CO has been not showing up at the MMC building during office hours as he is tied up with his new role with the National Games and said if that was the case, then an acting replacement should have been appointed to carry out the work of the CO at such a crucial juncture.
CO Shankhwalkar was unavailable for comment on Thursday. He is expected to address the matter at the Council meeting on Friday.
Opposition slams Municipal Council over fiscal mismanagement
MARGAO: The Margao Municipal Council (MMC) is currently in the Opposition’s crosshairs, facing severe criticism for its alleged mismanagement of finances and inability to generate revenue, which has led to delays in staff salary payments.
Senior councillor and former Chairperson Ghanashyam Shirodkar said, “Around Rs two crore is required for salary payments-this is the situation irrespective of whether MMC is in a profit or loss,” said Shirodkar.
Regarding revenue generation, he said MMC should have worked on this on a war footing and that this should be a consistent effort. “If the administration does the work of seeing that revenue is collected, only then will the issue of salaries be resolved, otherwise it’s a recipe for disaster. Just sitting in the cabins and waiting for the money to come is not sufficient,” Shirodkar added.
He further said as per information he received, the Municipality receives Rs 1.15 to 2 lakh a day from its counters in the MMC building. “So how much does this amount to per month? Around Rs 60 lakh approximately. So after this, it is the responsibility of the MMC to recover the balance amount and get that additional revenue,” Shirodkar added.
The senior opposition councillor also questioned the role of the recovery officer who was appointed for the sole task of recovering outstanding dues and revenue.
“Now two or three times at the council meetings, I have asked that this recovery officer mention in black and white, how much revenue he has recovered every month. This should be as per his efforts and not the amount that was received from the counters,” Shirodkar added further.
Responding to how the Chairperson and ruling councillors are putting the blame on the Chief Officer, Shirodkar said the Chairperson is the one who should take the initiative as well as he has the supervisory powers.
Shirodkar pointed out that it is the council that appoints the staff and so it is the responsibility of the council and the council is headed by the Chairperson. He however added that the Chief Officer also must do much more as the administrative head in this regard.
Shirodkar also hinted that at times, there is political interference which comes in the way and halts certain revenue recovery processes.
