The deadlock between the directorate of municipal administration and the Corporation of the City of Panaji over the clearance of the bill submitted by a private contractor for lifting the garbage from 42 city hotels and restaurants during the past four months has resulted in refusal by the contractor to continue with his services. The CCP will take up the issue during its scheduled meeting on January 16.
The garbage generated in the said hotels and restaurants has been piling up from Tuesday and some of them have even resorted to throwing this garbage in public places. The Panaji hotel owners association is also contemplating filing a writ petition against the CCP for causing great inconvenience to the city hotels.
The Minister for Urban Development, Mr Joaquim Alemao told The Navhind Times on Wednesday stated that the said private contractor was not appointed by him.
But the directorate of municipal administration and since the DMA could not directly make the payment to this contractor due to certain technical reasons, a request was made to the CCP to undertake the payment. “I, during a meeting with the mayor, Mr Tony Rodrigues had requested him to forward a resolution taken by the CCP council as regards readiness of the Corporation to pay the private contractor, Mr Alemao said pointing out that the DMA was even ready to give grants to the CCP to make this payment.
It is learnt that the private contractor was assured payment of Rs 6,000 per truckload of garbage carried and disposed by him. The total bill runs into lakhs of rupees; the contractor having started the work in September. The mayor told this daily that majority of the councillors have taken objection for routing the DMA funds through the CCP, for payment of a private contractor, who has not been appointed by the Corporation. “The private contractor has been appointed by the DMA and it should handle all the transactions related to the appointment, he said, adding, The CCP has nothing to do with it.
The representative of the Panaji Hotel Owners Association, Mr Gaurish Dhond said that there is no sign of relief to the city hoteliers as well as restaurant owners, as far as garbage collection and disposal is concerned. The mayor unfortunately just doesn’t want to help us,” he lamented. Meanwhile, the CCP mayor said the process of demolition of gaddas located around the city is on, and would be complete by January 27. He also informed that all the 88 gadda owners received letters of allotment of new spaces in the city municipal market, from the Corporation of the City of Panaji, on Wednesday.
-Navhind Times, Goa Daily
