MARGAO
In a major decision, the South Goa district Collector Anjali Sehrawat has scrapped the Rs 3.68 crore ambitious Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) project under ex-Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik’s MPLAD scheme in Fatorda which was launched by TCP Minister
Vijai Sardesai in his constituency on Goa Liberation Day last year.
In her order, the District Collector has cancelled the administrative approval and the expenditure sanction order dated June 23, 2017, which was sanctioned for an amount of Rs 3,68,24,706 for administrative reasons. Hence, the order clearly stated that the order issuing administrative approval and expenditure sanction stands withdrawn with immediate effect.
The Collector has communicated the order to the contractor, Ms Amey Computers as well as the ex-Rajya sabha MP Shantaram Naik, who had sanctioned the CCTV project for Fatorda under the
MPLAD scheme.
While the Collector’s order does not provide any insight into the nature of administrative reasons behind the decision to cancel the administrative approval and expenditure sanction granted for the project, officials in the know have raised doubts whether the district authorities had complied with the codal formalities by inviting open tenders for the multi-crore project.
It is also learnt that that contract was awarded without taking into account the GST requirement.
Officials in the know said the CCTV surveillance cameras project was almost cleared by the district authorities during the tenure of then South Goa Collector Swapnil Naik.
While the District Collector was not available for comment despite several attempts to seek her comments over the phone, TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai said the Collector had informed him over the decision to cancel the administrative approval and expenditure sanction granted for the project citing administrative reasons, including non-compliance of the codal formalities. “Let the authorities take the decision. I have nothing to say. The project may be delayed by some time,” he said.
The TCP Minister had launched work on the Rs 3.68 crore ambitious project on Goa Liberation Day last at Gogol in the presence of former Minister Luis Alex Cardozo and work on installing the 296 cameras were supposed to be completed within two months time.
Incidentally, work on the project was first delayed because of the U-17 WC matches at Fatorda, since the district authorities had denied permission for the cutting of roads to place the cables for the CCTV cameras.
