The Margao Municipal Council (MMC) witnessed an uproar on Monday after all the City Fathers demanded that the Civic body lodge a complaint with the Vigilance to probe into the purchase of three BS4-compliant trucks when the BS6 regime had come into force.
MMC Chairperson Lyndon Pereira, however, insisted that the issue be first discussed by a panel comprising of councillors and City Fathers, before referring the matter to the Vigilance for a probe.
When Chairperson Lyndon placed the matter before the Council to obtain a nod to approach the Supreme Court in order get BS6 compliant status for the three trucks, councillor Ganashyam Shirodkar was on his feet to oppose the move, demanding to know whether there’s any guarantee that the Apex Court will grant relief to register the BS4 trucks in 2022 when the new regime had come into force in 2021.
When the Chairperson informed that the Municipal lawyer has estimated that it may cost the Civic body around Rs five lakh as legal fees to take up the matter in the Supreme Court, Ganashyam and others pointed out that it would cost the Civic body a bomb for the litigation.
Holding the Municipal officials responsible for the delay in registering the BS4 compliant trucks on time, thus causing a loss of Rs 38 lakh to the Civic body, almost all the City Fathers were on their feet to demand a vigilance probe into the episode.
The councillors demanded that the Vigilance probe fix responsibility for the delay in registering the trucks with the Transport Department, before moving the Supreme Court to seek relief.
Meanwhile, the Council has shot down the proposal to rope in security personnel from the Goa Human Resources Development Corporation, with the City Fathers demanding that the Civic body give the contract to local security agencies.
The City Fathers also objected to the office's proposal to take 10 data entry operators from the Corporation, demanding that the Civic body promote the deserving staff and fill up the vacancies.
