Team Herald
VASCO: Most works at the Mormugao municipality have come to a crawl as around 30 employees, including the chief officer, have been assigned duties for the municipal elections as well as the election roll revision works of the Election Commission of India and State Election Commission.
According to Chief Officer Melvyn Vaz, most of the officers who provide essential services have been assigned poll duties. He stated, “We have been receiving requisitions from the Election Commission for deployment of municipal staff for poll duties. This will definitely hamper the works at the municipality. EC can very well take the services of government staff, including from the PWD and education department. But taking our staff paralyses the day-to-day works here.”
Vaz had recently launched an “aggressive” campaign to recover dues from defaulters, but the work has now been stalled due to the lack of staff. On a requisition made by the EC, he has also been asked to work as a Booth Level Officer (BLO).
Meanwhile, Vasco citizens as well as Mormugao municipal staff are annoyed with the requisitions made by the EC.
Works such as issuing of birth/death and incomes certificates, files pertaining to house tax assessment/collection, construction license files, and other essential services have been affected as officers from the LDC to UDC rank and the accounts officer are now on poll duty. The citizens will have face hardships until the end of the municipal elections, which will be held on October 25.
“The municipality wears a deserted look due to large-scale deployment of municipal staff for poll duty. People are coming only to go back empty handed,” said Vasco resident Rupesh Naik.
Former councillor Tara Kerkar stated, “It would have been better if the EC forms a dedicated team for election duties. Taking away staff members who provide essential services is actually forcing people to face undue hardships.”
