MARGAO
It appears so, given the fact that not a single chief officer or staff concerned who had put in service in the civic body between 2001 and 2013 has been summoned for interrogations by ACB even five months after the case was registered. Inquiries by the Goan have revealed that the ACB is believed to have only dispatched a letter to the three-member team of auditors for recording of their statements before initiating
further investigations into the case. That the three auditors have still not made their presence felt before the the investigating agency and ACB showing no hurry in summoning them during the last five months
have thrown up questions about the seriousness in pursuing the case. When The Goan contacted
a senior ACB official to shed light on the status of the investigations, he argued saying the agency cannot summon the chief officers without first recording the statements of the three government auditors,
who in their report had suspected a financial fraud during the 12-year period. The ACB had on February 17 last registered an FIR against officials of Cuncolim Municipal Council on charges of allegedly misappropriating Rs 3.79 crore. Various provisions of the IPC ranging from criminal conspiracy, corruption and criminal breach were invoked by the ACB against the unnamed officials based on a complaint lodged by Additional Director of Municipal Administration, Satish Desai. The Additional Director of Municipal Administration’s complaint was apparently based on a special audit report compiled by a three-member team of government auditors constituted to examine the CMC account records between 2001-13. The audit had unearthed grave financial irregularities by officials who did not follow
mandatory codal formalities in the procurement of dust bins amounting to Rs 32.42 lakh in 2011. The audit had also come across serious lapses in the purchase of bio-culture powder at a cost of Rs 12.45 lakh.
The audit report categorically states that while the government had given a grant of only of Rs 20 lakh for the purchase of the dust bins, the council had ended up spending Rs 32.42 lakh. Moreover, the dust bins were purchased in a piecemeal manner to avoid the tendering process. No supply order was made
available to the auditors for verification. The CMC also failed to maintain a stock register as a result of which the entire consignment valued at Rs 32.42 lakh remained unaccounted in the records of the council, the auditors revealed in their report. The audit had further come out with a startling disclosure
that the council had released payment of Rs 20 lakh to the contractor despite the fact that the voucher does not bear his signature acknowledging the payment. Also, the voucher does not bear the signature
of the chief officer and the chairperson to authorize the payment.
