“Criminal case if potholes are not covered..!”
MLA lashes out in Belagavi City Corporation general meeting; anger against L&T and Megha Gas officials
Belagavi, June 17:
With the onset of the monsoon, open potholes in the middle of city roads are posing a threat to lives. Taking serious note of this, Belagavi South MLA Abhay Patil lashed out at the officials during the general body meeting of the Belagavi City Corporation.
“If the potholes are not covered and if anything happens to the public, a criminal case must be immediately filed against the engineers,” warned Patil sternly.
“If the Corporation hesitates in taking action, our party workers themselves will file the case,” he added.
” We’ll lock it up…!”
MLA Abhay Patil criticized L&T company, stating that the paver restoration work is not being done properly.
If all potholes are not covered within the next three days, we ourselves will lock the L&T office. The anger of local residents on this matter is also increasing,” he warned.
Doubt cast on legal officers’ loyalty – “Are they with the Corporation or someone else?”
Another major issue raised in the meeting was the Tilakwadi Club controversy.
At that time, government-nominated member Ramesh Sontakki expressed doubts about the loyalty of the legal officers.
“It is their responsibility to protect the Corporation’s property. But hearing their statements, it feels like they are speaking on behalf of private individuals,” he said sarcastically.
“A question has now arisen — should such officials even be retained?” he added.
Penalty imposed on Corporation – ‘Who is responsible?’
Regarding the ₹30,000 penalty imposed on the Corporation, BJP member Santosh Pednekar demanded clarification.
“The penalty was imposed because the advocate who was supposed to represent the Corporation in court was absent. This is a direct result of negligence,” he said seriously.
Legal officers’ response:
“The lawyer was absent due to illness on that day,” was the reply — which further enraged the members.
. Ravi Dhotre and other members remarked that “this is the result of careless appointments and has caused damage to the Corporation’s reputation.”
