NESHWIN ALMEIDA
neshwin@herald-goa.com
Raju Naik is a veteran in the Margao Municipal Council and has been a councillor for 15-years but he says he’s never vied for the Chairperson’s chair nor for any position.
He looks back at his last tenure but he’s wary of Herald’s Ward Watch and hopes it doesn’t come in the way of him getting elected for a fourth time. He’s also sceptical of the BJP government which did not release funds, delimitation and Herald’s negative report which he feels will make it difficult for him to get elected for a record fourth term.
“In my ward, maximum land is filled with Junta Quarters and hence the ward has state government buildings which are maintained by the state and PWD with little or no say for the councillor. These buildings are over sixty years old and have leakages, crumbling walls, rusting iron and need huge repairs,” explains the councillor.
Naik points out that he is always after the PWD and even got 16 such buildings painted and he works to develop the area but the onus is on the government. He also explains that being on the foothill on the Monte, there is a huge water problem and he had to lay many water pipes to provide water supply to the Junta Quarters.
But there is a segment of the ward that is deeply hurt and feels ignored. The Gandhinagar area which comprises of slums along the Junta Quarters hope that they also get proper water supply, door to door garbage collection, construction of drains and other facilities which are not provided to them.
“We feel we get step-motherly treatment just because we’re hutments in the ward while the big buildings along BPS club and the Junta Quarters area are provided with the best while we have erratic water supply, narrow by lanes and no assistance to repair our small shanties in the monsoon,” asserted Aqib Shaikh from Gandhinagar.
The biggest focus in the ward is the extension of Margao city and the rampant illegal hill cutting and construction. People feel that the councillor is hand in glove with the activity and never raises the issue.
Naik asserts that till date he has won elections only because he delivers and performs for his residents. But he feels that non-development of any infrastructure projects in the MMC wards in the last three years will take a big hit in these assembly polls.
“Garbage collection is streamlined by the councillor but the problem is that of sewage. The buildings in Pajifond are old and the septic tanks are clogged. The sewage network was laid after so many delays but is yet to be connected to homes. It’s the councillor who has to take up sanitation or it’s a ticking time bomb and our water can get contaminated,” stated Kheshboo Shah, from the huge Jain community that lives within Pajifond ward.
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Herald: You are the senior most councillor in the MMC. What has been your performance like?
Raju Naik: Yes I have been around for two terms and a few months away from my third term. I have been a councillor for around 15 years and want to learn from experience. With regard to my ward, I got the entire sewerage connection networked underground and just await a connection to be given. A lot more has to be done and achieved in my ward. Laying of more water pipelines, security and more.
Herald: How does the three time councillor look at his ward and the problems it faces?
Naik: The biggest menace in my ward is that of stray dogs. The South Goa Welfare Trust for Animals picks them up and vaccinates them and brings them back to the same area. The dogs disrupt dustbins, garbage bags; drag garbage onto the road and that is where the whole mess starts. The councillor can’t do much; the state government needs to take up this task.
Herald: What about issues like illegal construction and hill cutting? All this is on the rise in your ward along the hill in Pajifond which originally is a green zone area.
Naik: I myself have made complaints of hill cutting and illegal construction. I object to all illegal construction in my ward but they have the town planner and SGPDA permissions and a nod from TCP and hence we can’t do anything about it then. We can only object as councillors to construction licenses if the project doesn’t have enough parking facility but beyond that there’s no scope.
