Five months on, ZP members question govt promises on powers and funds

South Goa ZP chairperson Sidharth Gauns Desai addresses a meeting held on Wednesday.

MARGAO
Five months after assuming office, newly elected members of the South Goa zilla panchayat on Wednesday reminded the State government to fulfil its promises of devolving powers and providing enhanced financial support to the district panchayat bodies.
At a meeting of the South Goa zilla panchayat chaired by chairperson Sidharth Gauns Desai, members strongly pitched for transferring the Rural Development Agency (RDA) department, along with certain functions of the Agriculture Department, to the zilla panchayats.
Benaulim ZP member Luiza Rodrigues recalled that Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho, during the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected members, had assured the zilla panchayats of a “big surprise” in the form of additional powers and enhanced funds. Leave alone the promised powers to the ZP bodies, the enhanced funds to the district panchayat body have not come till date, she said.
The Benaulim ZP member also raised the question of government departments not recognising works proposed by the members on their letterheads. “An officer told me that they can take up works proposed by the panchayats and the MLAs. This is unfair to the zilla panchayat member, who represents around four-five villages in the South Goa ZP,” she said.
Chairperson Gauns Desai later told the media that the ZP would formally write to the government seeking transfer of powers related to the RDA and agriculture departments.
 “The ZP members are ready to do the work of these departments or support these departments in implementing the schemes. We will write to the government to hand over the powers at the earliest,” he added.
The South Goa zilla panchayat has also embarked on an exercise to issue show-cause notices to contractors who had either failed to start work or had left works pending on contracts awarded before the new body assumed office.
On points raised by ZP members that many works proposed by the previous body have not been taken up or have been left pending by contractors, the ZP chief said the new body has compiled a list of works that are not completed till date. “Accordingly, the ZP has issued show-cause notices to the contractors with a warning that the ZP will cancel the tenders if the works are not completed on time,” he added.
ZP members also demanded that they be issued parking stickers in line with MLAs and officials enjoying the facility so that they too can park their vehicles in government-run parking facilities.