Margao: A day after his appointment as president of the comunidade of Margao was opposed by a section of the components of the comunidade, Patricio Coutinho stressed that his intention behind assuming the post was to safeguard the interests of the heritage institution and its shareholders.Stating that there were several irregularities in the functioning of the comunidade, Coutinho said, “Within a year, I will prove how much money can be saved for the comunidade of Margao, and ensure that the dividends of the shareholders are increased substantially. Let them prove that I am working against the interests of the comunidade.”Coutinho alleged that the statements made a day earlier by certain shareholders were “false and fabricated.”
CJP Jantar Mantar Protest Updates
He said he had called a meeting of the comunidade with a 10-point agenda on Sunday, but the managing committee, despite being informed well in advance, chose to stay away and “misguide the shareholders” with their statements. He added that the comunidade had no annual budget in place. “How can a comunidade body even function without a budget?” he asked.On the objection that his name did not figure among the “able components” eligible to contest the comunidade elections, Coutinho clarified, “I have not contested any election. I have been appointed to the post by govt as per the provisions of the Code of Comunidades. I am here to safeguard the interests of the comunidade.”Responding to the allegation that he had acted against the comunidade’s interests by filing an intervention petition in an eviction case just as judgement was due, Coutinho said, “I filed the intervention only to get the details of the case, as nobody was giving me correct answers. Without it, how could I know what is going on in the comunidade?” He added that the case pertained to poor shopkeepers who had been regularly paying their rent.Coutinho further alleged that a number of paddy fields owned by the comunidade had changed ownership and land use during the term of the previous managing committee. “I will conduct an inquiry into all such cases,” he said.
