PANAJI
The scam in the excise department's Pernem office exposed by The Goan involving renewal of licences by accepting the fees but not depositing it in the treasury, has led to the recovery of the total amount involved to the tune of Rs 27 lakh, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the Goa legislative assembly on Wednesday.
"All the amount which is approximately Rs 27 lakh has been recovered. We have suspended three officials and instituted vigilance department and anti-corruption branch (ACB) proceedings and strict action will be taken as per procedure," Sawant said.
The chief minister said, suspension in one case was delayed to ensure that the entire amount is recovered which is now done. Accordingly, further action will now be taken in the matter, he added.
Sawant also said, that the department has also set up an 'auditor cell' to keep a strict vigil and prevent such internal malfeasance and block leakages.
He also sought to allay fears of large scale leakages in the excise department voiced by the Opposition, by claiming that there was a 33.16% increase in revenues in the last fiscal.
