TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Duplication of works under the jurisdiction of the Margao municipal council saw former chief minister and present Margao MLA Digambar Kamat joining his neighbouring constituency MLA Vijai Sardesai and party colleague Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco to take on Urban Development Minister Francis D’Souza during Question Hour Thursday.
There were heated discussions over about 14 out of 20 works being re-tendered by MMC even after the PWD had allegedly done the same works earlier.
“This is corruption,” Sardesai charged even as the minister argued that he had asked for an inquiry about the incident and had stopped the work orders from being issued. However, Kamat pointed out that the directions were given before tenders were issued but still officials had tendered the same.
To this D’Souza expressed surprise how the council initially passed an unanimous resolution for tendering of these works and later 12 councillors objected to it.
“The Chief Officer is overruling your instructions,” alleged Kamat.
The issue was still being vociferously argued even as the chief minister intervened but was subsequently stopped after the Speaker put a halt to the debate even as Sardessai protested that the second part of the question ~ on the illegality of the appointment of a certain officer without a council resolution being satisfactorily resolved.
