VASCO: On Thursday, the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) sealed the branches of a public sector bank and a private bank due to unpaid rent.
“The private bank branch in town and the public sector bank branch at Mangor Hill were sealed for failing to meet their rent obligations,” stated MMC chairperson Girish Borkar to TOI.
The private bank owed Rs 6 lakh, while the PSU bank had an outstanding amount of Rs 3 lakh. This recovery effort was led by MMC chief officer Siddhivinayak Naik, in collaboration with municipal engineers and inspectors.
“MMC is committed to taking strict measures against defaulters. Despite issuing notices, property owners have ignored our requests,” Borkar added.
Borkar mentioned that several other establishments, including state and central government offices, owe payments as well. “MMC has compiled a list of defaulters and is actively working to recover the outstanding amounts to ensure timely salary disbursement for municipal employees,” he noted.
To recover dues, MMC has adopted a ‘Gandhian’ approach.
As part of this recovery initiative, Borkar and Naik presented roses to the leaders of various institutions, asking them to clear their dues.
“After multiple reminders, the heads of these establishments have still not settled their long-overdue payments. We’ve initiated a unique method inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, offering a rose. We believe this will prompt owners to fulfill their financial responsibilities. We hope common sense will prevail,” the chief officer told TOI.
Naik shared that he had previously used this method successfully as Margao’s chief officer, stating, “Roses worth Rs 50 helped recover Rs 50 lakh.”
“This concept is being implemented here in Vasco with the chairperson’s approval, and I am optimistic it will aid the council in collecting long-standing dues,” he expressed.
The chief officer noted that the municipal council has passed a resolution to relocate the offices of the deputy collector and the mamlatdar to municipal premises. These offices will need to settle their dues before the move can take place.
