MARGAO
In an interesting development, the Margao Municipal Lower Divisional Clerk (LDC), who has come under scanner for allegedly misappropriating an amount of Rs 17.44 lakh, deposited an amount of Rs 3 lakh in the Municipal treasury on Friday evening.
The LDC’s move comes minutes after an emergency meeting of the Margao Municipal Council not only called for initiating criminal proceedings against the erring employee, but recovery suit to recover the money amounting to Rs 17.44 lakh.
In the light of the Municipal employee’s move to deposit Rs 3 lakh in the Municipal treasury, questions are being raised in the Margao Municipal corridor whether the Chief Officer will lodge an official police complaint with the police on Saturday.
For, the Chief Officer Gaurish Sankhwalkar had told the councillors that the police complaint has been drafted and vetted by the Municipal lawyer. Following this submission, the Council had told the Chief Officer to discuss the matter with the Municipal retainer and lodge a formal police complaint.
The councillors had also demanded that the Chief Officer issue memos to the members of the team constituted to oversee the Purumentachem fest fair revenue collection.
When The Goan called up Chief Officer Sankhwalkar to shed light on reports that the LDC has deposited an amount of Rs 3 lakh in the treasury, he confirmed that the erring employee had deposited the amount at the cash counter. “We will discuss with the lawyer on Saturday whether the MMC should still go ahead with the police complaint against the LDC. One thing is clear that the LDC has admitted that he had misappropriated the amount,” the Chief Officer added.
That the MMC has accepted Rs 3 lakh deposit from the employee assumes significance given that Chairperson Damu Shirodkar had rejected the offer from the employee to clear the dues in installments.
In fact, the letter written by the LDC to the municipality admitting that he did not deposit the money collected from the feat fair with the treasury was not accepted by the Council.
Councillors cutting across party lines, however, not only condemned the misappropriation of the money by the employee, but exposed the chinks in the administration over its failure to prevent the fraud.
Councilor Shagun Naik, Ganashyam Shirodkar, Pooja Naik, Sushantha Kurtarkar, Mahesh Amonkar slammed the administration over the failure to put in place checks and balances to prevent the misappropriation.
In fact, councillor Sushantha Kurtarkar demanded that the case should be handed over to the Anti-Corruption Bureau to get to the bottom of the fraud and expose the hand of officials in the case.
