Serve memos on JEs, MMC chief asks CO
HERALD REPORTER
MARGO, APRIL 25
The bitter row whether City Fathers are entitled to seek information on construction licenses from the Municipal engineers has deepened in the Margao civic body with the Municipal Chairperson asking the Chief Officer to serve memos on Junior engineers for their stand that they cannot place such information before the Council.
An agitated MMC Chairperson Savio Coutinho is believed to have put up a note to the newly-appointed Chief Officer Y B Tawde to issue memo’s to the Junior Engineers for their explanations that they cannot dish out information on construction licenses issued by them to the elected Councillors.
The latest development comes against the backdrop of the note from the outgoing Chief Officer, Prasanna Acharya, which seeks to pain the councillors in bad light, by pointing out that certain councillors raised issue regarding construction only to settle for a consideration with the builders.
Asks MMC Chairperson, Coutinho: “How can a group of Junior Engineers conclude that information sought on the question of construction licenses issued to builders cannot be given to the Chairperson or the Councillors”.
It is learnt that the Junior Engineers in the municipal body had put up a note to the Chairperson saying that rules does not permit them to give information sought on the number of construction licenses.
The Junior Engineers are believed to have contended that the technical section issues the construction licenses and occupancy certificates based on the plan and completion certificates issued by the South Goa Planning and Development Authority.
The controversy arose after Coutinho in a letter to then Chief Officer Prasanna Acharya sought information on the number of construction licenses issued in the city and the compliance of conditions on infrastructure requirements such as waste disposal, parking etc.
Says Coutinho: “I want to make it very clear that I have not asked the technical section to route the files relating to construction license to my office. I understand that approving construction files is the domain of the technical section, but at least the elected representatives have the basic right to know how many licenses have been cleared in the last two years,” he said.
Coutinho said that when a common citizen can obtain the information via the Right to Information Act, it is surprising that the Municipal technical section does not want to dish out the information to the elected representatives.
On the row over the remarks by outgoing CO Prasanna Acharya seeking to blame Councilors for trying to settle with builders after raising issues over constructions, Coutinho shot back “The outgoing CO has only tried to divert the main issue, whether or not, the elected Councillors are entitled for information on construction licenses issued by the civic body. If Acharya was sincere enough, he should have named the concerned councillor, instead of beating around the bush,” he asserted.
