Awaits payment of rent dues of Rs 8.5L from the outpost in its premises
The Goa Police outpost functioning from the Rumdamol VP premises.
MARGAO
The Goa Police outpost at Rumdamol village has come under the scanner of the panchayat body but for a different reason.
Operating from the premises of the Rumdamol village panchayat for nearly a decade and a half now, the Goa Police has been found defaulting in paying the rent to the panchayat body over the years. The rent owed by the Goa Police has now piled up to a whopping Rs 8.5 lakh.
No doubt, the police outpost attached to the Maina-Curtorim Police Station has helped the force to discharge its functions in the communally sensitive housing board area. The panchayat members, however, say the payment of rent dues by the police department will go a long way in initiating developmental activities in the village.
Opposition member Vinayak Volvoikar blamed the ruling panel of the panchayat for its failure to do a follow-up with the police department to recover the pending dues. “Rs 8.5 lakh is a huge sum for a panchayat body such as Rumdamol. We could have taken various projects with these funds but the panchayat has not initiated moves to recover the dues,” Volvoikar said, adding that the police had made a part rent payment when he had presided over the panchayat as the sarpanch.
Ruling panchayat member Saimulla Fanibandh, however, begged to differ. He said the panchayat has been following up with the police department, reminding the department of the pending dues. “On most occasions, the panchayat received no response from the police department. We will send a fresh reminder to them to clear their dues,” Saimulla stated.
