MAPUSA
Five councillors of the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) has knocked on the doors of the Department of Tourism, which is conducting the Carnival festival, requesting it to take action against “irregularities” and “illegalities” conducted in the organisation of Mapusa Carnival.
In a letter addressed to the Director of Tourism, the councillors said the department of tourism entrusts Rs 20 lakhs to the MMC as a custodian of public service and any biased, illegal, corrupt and malicious practices ought not to be permitted.
“The vice chairperson and few individuals are treating the carnival as a private event thereby employing their own vendors without inviting short tenders or quotations and granting them the same without following the due process. The Department of Tourism should step in and monitor the expenditure and conduct of those who are seeking to control and misappropriate funds and trust of the people of Mapusa,” said a statement signed by councillors, Sudhir Kandolkar, Shashank Narvekar, Kamal D’Souza, Anand Bhaidkar and Anvi Korgoankar.
Listing the chain of events that led to the resignation of the General Secretary of the Mapusa Carnival committee, the aggrieved councillors said that the Vice Chairperson, Chandrashekar Benkar, who has been acting as the Chairman of the Carnival committee along with some councillors have been conducting the carnival meetings in a highhanded and biased manner leading to the removal of duly appointed chairmen of five sub-committees and installing their favourable persons in order to misappropriate funds received for the celebration of the carnival at Mapusa.
They said the committee to organize and celebrate the Carnival festival including the parade in Mapusa was constituted on January 23 and thereafter Benkar called for the second meeting on February 8 giving notice via WhatsApp in the official MMC councillors group. They said the meeting was attended by about 12 -15 councillors along with about 30-40 citizens from Mapusa and surrounding areas.
The councillors informed that Kamal D'Souza was appointed as chairman of the programme committee, Ashirwad Khojuekar as chairman of the infrastructure committee, Shashank Narvekar as chairman of the publicity committee among other appointments by following due procedure. The General Secretary of the Carnival Committee Kayle Braganza declared the sub-committees and fixed the next meeting on February 9 to fix roles and duties for each committee and sub-committee.
“However, during the meeting on February 9, two councillors “ Sainath Raul and Swapnil Shirodkar “ started shouting and obstructing the proceedings claiming that all appointments made on February 8 were illegal and that the same should be reappointed. To the shock and surprise of all those present the chairman ended the meeting without recording the minutes and later illegally issued a fresh notice to conduct a meeting on February 10 to reconstitute fresh sub-committees,” Narvekar said.
The councillors said that the meetings conducted by the vice chairperson were in violation of the principle of natural justice and were indicative of vindictive and partial nature. They requested the Tourism Department to take necessary action against the erring members.
