Suspecting a major food scam of Rs 51.60 lakh pertaining to substandard and rotten meals served to cops deployed on BRICS Summit duty, the Goa Human Rights Commission has directed Chief Secretary to submit his interim report within ten days while also ordering to put on hold the payments to M/s Amonkar Classic Caterers, Bicholim pending inquiry.
GHRC, chaired by AD Salkar with JA Keny as a member, was of the opinion that this is an appropriate case where interim directions should be issued to the Chief Secretary to conduct a thorough inquiry and fix responsibility on the defaulting officials.
The matter has been adjourned to November 2.
After going through all the newspaper reports submitted by the complainant Adv Aires Rodrigues, among other issues, GHRC noted that, prima facie, though the food contract was awarded to M/s Amonkar Classic Caterers, the food was in fact supplied by sub-contractors.
The copy of the order conveying sanction of Goa government for incurring expenditure of Rs 51.60 lakh towards the supply of food packets and refreshments from M/s Amonkar Classic Caterers to the 5,000-off police personnel deployed on duty at the recently concluded BRICS Summit, 2016 from October 14 to October 17.
Adv Rodrigues placed copies of several news reports that appeared in local newspapers, all dated October 18, which detailed the deplorable conditions in which the food was prepared for the cops as well as the illnesses suffered by the policemen upon eating the said food.
It was reported that left over lunch packets were served as dinner packets and left over dinner packets were served for lunch the following day. As a result, the food was stale with bad odour and majority of the policemen refused to eat it. In addition to this, it was also reported that the meals were prepared in an open place owned by police department near Verna Police petrol pump and that roadside labour were engaged in cooking the sub-standard food in unhygienic condition. Thick bushes and grass grew around the cooking place and hence the possibility of insects in the food couldn’t be ruled out.
