OLD GOA
Expenditure of over Rs one lakh by the Se Old Goa Panchayat for celebration of Gandhi Jayanti came under the scanner at the gram sabha on Sunday with the villagers urging the panchayat to ask the State government to fund the same.
The proposal was made after Sarpanch Janita Madkaikar informed the villagers that the panchayat does not have funds to undertake development works in the village. To this, a villager Glen Cabral questioned how the panchayat is spending over Rs one lakh for Gandhi Jayanti celebration when it does not have any funds.
“Ask the government to fund the Gandhi Jayanti celebration expenses as it is a State function,” Cabral added further.
However, secretary Ashish Naik opined that the panchayat can afford to bear expenses of over Rs one lakh. “Asking for funds from the government is not justified for such a small amount,” Naik stated.
Later, sarpanch Madkaikar clarified that majority of the panchayat fund is spent on clearing earlier bills. “This year itself around Rs 50 lakh were paid to clear pending bills due to which no new developmental works could be taken up,” she informed.
The issue of unauthorised kiosks also dominated the meet with villagers urging the panchayat to undertake survey of all kiosks operating in the village. “The panchayat should take action against kiosks found to be unauthorised,” the villagers said while demanding preference when demanding preference for Goans while granting licences for kiosks.
On kiosks operating in private properties, the villagers said that the owners should provide parking facilities inside the property. The issue of haphazard parking in areas of Old Goa was also discussed. The villagers pointed out areas where haphazard parking was creating traffic jams and posing threat to life of pedestrians. The panchayat authorities have now decided to hold a joint inspection along with the traffic police and other authorities to work out a solution. Collection of parking fees in no-parking areas and Tourism Department property by the contractor also figured at the meeting. Villagers sought action against the contractor for breach of contract.
However, the panchayat authorities called for concrete proof against the contractor before taking any action.“We also advise the affected to approach the panchayat or the police if parking fees are collected in non-designated areas,” secretary Naik said.
Garbage issue, tenant verification, water supply woes, CRZ draft notification and river nationalisation were some of the other issues discussed.
