Panaji: A meeting of the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) on Monday ended abruptly after 11 councillors of the 20-member council walked out in protest amid the allegations of procedural irregularities in the recent hiring of six contractual staff members.
The councillors demanded that MMC chairperson Nutan Bicholkar place the relevant file before the council for discussion. Bicholkar refused, citing a legal matter pending before the directorate of municipal administration (DMA).
The councillors argued that DMA is not a court of law and that MMC had the right to scrutinise the hiring process. They said that the appointments were based on an unconfirmed resolution and were therefore illegal.
“What section she quoted is wrong. The complaint before the DMA is filed against the chairperson and the chief officer. It is not filed against Mapusa municipality. So the matter doesn’t become sub judice. As she decline to meet our request we walked out and boycotted the meeting, and the meeting was then forced to end abruptly,” councillor adv Shashank Narvekar said.
Bicholkar defended her decision, stating it was in line with previous practices and that the DMA would ultimately decide on the legality of the hiring of six contractual staff.