MARGAO
Unlike in the past when the district panchayat body neither had power nor funds to usher in development, the South Goa Zilla Panchayat is now flush with development funds. However, it is struggling to float even a single a tender to execute works for a different reason “ frequent transfer of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and technical officials holding additional charge of office.
That’s not all. During the last six months since the new body had assumed office under the leadership of Suvarna Tendulkar, the South Goa Zilla Panchayat has so far seen around five CEOs, beginning with Agnelo Fernandes, Trivani Velip, Sanjeev Gadkar, Florina Colaco and incumbent CEO Gaurish Kuttikar who has taken charge of office only recently.
That’s not all. The Zilla Panchayat had to also grapple with a situation wherein the technical staff, right from the Executive engineer to the Assistant engineer was holding additional charge of office, hampering the administration. The technical work was also hampered in between, after a couple of Junior engineers were infected with COVID and had to proceed on leave on medical grounds.
Resultantly, the CEO transfers and postings had a telling effect on the floating of tenders of the development works. Sources informed that that the Zilla Panchayat has not floated a single development tender since the new body assumed office in January last precisely because of the frequent transfers of the CEOs and the additional charges held by the technical officials.
South ZP Chairperson Suvarna Zambaulikar informed that the body is now trying to put a mechanism in place to float the tender at the earliest with the government deputing a full-fledged CEO Gaurish Kuttikar. ‘We had encountered certain difficulties with the transfers of the CEO’s with each officer raising queries over the works after assuming office. There were also issues relating to the keys since the works were to be executed via e-tendering”.
The South ZP Chairperson said the district panchayat body is flush with development funds, with the government sanctioning around Rs eight crore for the development work. Besides, she said the ZP has received around Rs 2.80 crore from the 15th finance commission to execute workers.
Two-time ZP member Ulhas Tuemkar said tendering of the works was further delayed after the Chief Executive Officers, upon assuming office, raised queries after queries, even on issues such as NOC from religious bodies to take up works under the ZP funds. “I have submitted at the meeting of the ZIlla Panchayat that the PWD executes crores of rupees worth of development works in the constituencies on the letter head of the Ministers and MLAs”, he said.
Tuemkar added: “Raising unnecessary queries will only stall development works. I am happy that the newly posted CEO Gaurish Kuttikar has promised to work out a solution to all issues so that the development works moves in the fast track”.
After Mauvin intervention, scribes
get entry to zilla panchayat meet
The South Goa Zilla Panchayat meeting underway at the Old Collectorate building on Wednesday. Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO: Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho intervened on Wednesday after members of the Fourth Estate complained that the media has been kept out of the meeting of the South Goa Zilla Panchayat.
After the matter was brought to the notice of the Panchayat Minister that media cannot cover the proceedings, Godinho called up Sancoale ZP Member Anita Thorat and spoke to CEO Gaurish Kuttikar when the meeting was underway and later Chairperson Suvarna Tendulkar to make sure that the media is allowed inside the meeting hall. The Chairperson later sent a word to the waiting media persons to come inside the hall.
When later contacted, Chairperson Tendulkar pointed out that the media was not kept out of the meeting hall, but was only told by a staffer that she would brief them after the meeting. “There was no ulterior motive on our part since the space where the meeting was held in the Old Collectorate building had no place to put chairs for the media. Hence, the staffer had told the media that I will brief them after the meeting”, Tendulkar said, adding that she would make arrangements for the media to cover the proceedings of the meetings in the future.
Briefing the media on the proceedings of the meeting, the Chairperson said the meeting discussed over the development proposals and the tendering of the works. She said the meeting congratulated the government for extending the DDSSY scheme by renewing the same.
The meeting turned stormy over the tenders with members including Ulhas Tuemkar questioning the delay in tendering the development works when the government has provided funds to the body.
Meanwhile, Curtorim ZP member Michelle Rebello demanded scrapping of the IRB camp on the leprosy hospital land, by suggesting that the land in question is utilized for a health project. She also demanded improvement in the telephone network in Curtorim constituency and expressed fears that the hike in fuel prices will adversely affect the farming community.
