MAPUSA
Upset at the sudden transfer of the village secretary, the Moira panchayat and the villagers have requested the government to rescind its decision and immediately reinstate the “hardworking” and “dedicated” secretary in the panchayat.
The Director of Panchayat Siddhi Halarnkar had recently issued the order transferring the Moira panchayat secretary Estelina Fernandes while replacing Beladas Karapurkar in her place.
Fernandes has been asked to report for duty at the Block Development Office.
The panchayat members expressed disappointment at the sudden transfer of the secretary who was dedicated to her work and also helpful to the locals who visited the panchayat.
Several villagers also slammed the government's decision of transferring the secretary and decided to launch a signature campaign against the transfer order.
Moira sarpanch Sagar Naik told The Goan that the decision was taken suddenly without taking the panchayat into confidence
The panchayat has now written to the Director of Panchayats and the Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho requesting to rescind the transfer order and revert Estelina Fernandes as the secretary of the panchayat.
“The secretary was very hardworking and dedicated. Whenever required she would stay back even past 7 pm in the office to complete pending work. She was also very courteous with the public and at times went out of her way to help the senior citizens,” Naik said.
He further informed that the secretary was instrumental in resolving the vexatious material recovery facility (MRF) issue in the village.
“We are positive the government will take a favourable decision and reverse its decision of transferring Fernandes,” the sarpanch said.
This is the second case in Bardez where the panchayat and the public have backed “performing” secretaries in their village panchayats.
Around two months back, the village panchayat of Siolim-Marna backed its secretary Smitha Parab who was also transferred.
The Siolim-Marna villagers opposed the transfer and unanimously passed a resolution in the gram sabha asking to bring Parab back to the village.
The Director of Panchayats later cancelled the transfer order and retained Parab as the secretary of Siolim-Marna panchayat.
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