PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has directedthe Director of Panchayats to produce the original files relating to thesanction, approval and expenditure incurred for a waste Material RecoveryFacility (MRF) at Rachol, following allegations of misappropriation of morethan Rs 12 lakh in public funds.
The direction came in response to a PublicInterest Litigation (PIL) filed by Querobino Gomes and four others questioningthe expenditure recorded by the Rachol Panchayat for construction of the wasteprocessing shed.
The petitioners alleged a discrepancy betweenthe land actually used for the shed and the area for which the expenditure wassanctioned. They also questioned how the expenditure reportedly crossed Rs 12lakh despite the shed allegedly being constructed on a smaller area thanoriginally proposed.
The petition further alleged that the filemaintained by the Director of Panchayats does not clearly establish the landidentified for construction of the facility or the manner in which the fundswere sanctioned and disbursed.
The Division Bench of Justice Valmiki Menezesand Justice Amit Jamsandekar, taking note of the issues raised, directed theDirector of Panchayats to produce the relevant original records before thecourt on September 23.
The court specifically sought the file on theapproval and decision-making process for the waste processing shed, along withother relevant files, for its examination.
