Old Goa
The Se Old Goa panchayat is still paying the bills of works executed by the previous body due to which developmental works in the village are affected.
This was divulged by the panchayat authorities at the gram sabha on Sunday. The issue was highlighted after a villager sought to know why an electricity bill of Rs 10 lakh is unpaid.
To this, sarpanch Janita Madkaikar informed that from the time she has taken charge the panchayat is paying bills of works executed by previous body and currently there are no funds to clear more bills.
When the villagers were informed that bills of over Rs 60 lakh are pending, they sought to know how the previous body passed works without availability of funds and demanded vigilance probe in the matter, which the panchayat agreed.
The gram sabha also raised objections to nationalisation of rivers with villager Glen Cabral raising suspicion that a coal jetty was being proposed in Old Goa which will not only lead to pollution of river water but also create coal pollution in the village.
Though the authorities said that the panchayat was not aware of any proposal for a coal jetty in Old Goa, the villagers demanded that an objection letter should be submitted in the matter.
The issue of overcharging of parking fees by the contractor was also raised with the villagers demanding action in the matter.
The panchayat was also informed that the contractor was even collecting parking fees from a property belonging to the tourism department.
The panchayat authorities told the villagers that the tourism department was informed of the same with a request to install a gate to prevent entry of vehicles. “Also, the police have been informed of this illegal collection of parking fees but no action is forthcoming,” the villagers were informed.
The issue of Old Goa feast fair was also raised with the villagers pointing to some stalls putting up even after the deadline of December 4. “After December 4, no stall should be allowed to operate,” a villager demanded. “Before allocating the stalls the panchayat should collect a refundable deposit of Rs 5,000-10,000 and if a person fails to dismantle the stall by December 4 the deposit should stand forfeited,” a villager further suggested to which the panchayat authorities promised discussion on the issue at the fortnightly meeting.
