MARGAO
The Shadow Council for Margao (SCM) has submitted its third complaint to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, the Chief Secretary, the Vigilance Secretary, and the Director of Municipal Administration, highlighting what the NGO describes as ongoing fraud at the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) regarding sopo collection.
Expressing deep disappointment, the SCM has presented yet another complaint, accusing the council of misappropriating Rs 2,39,800 in the sopo collection process. The letter also reminded the CM, CS, and DMA of various irregularities in the contract, alleging that it was a benami (proxy) agreement between the Margao Municipal Council and a civil contractor, while the actual collection was carried out by individuals linked to local politicians.
The SCM claims that the Margao Municipal Council deliberately and fraudulently overlooked two important conditions when executing the contract: A penalty for delayed instalment payments and an increase in instalment amounts if the contract was extended.
The SCM points out that these omissions resulted in the council losing about Rs 5,40,000 due to the increased instalment payments when the contract was extended for three months, and an additional Rs 3,50,000 due to late payment penalties.
“In our earlier letters, we warned all three authorities that the Margao Municipal Council was attempting to manipulate the sopo collection contract and grant a waiver to the contractor, breaching the terms of the agreement,” said Savio Coutinho, Convenor of the SCM.
Coutinho also drew attention to a substantial loss of over Rs 15,00,000, which was allegedly embezzled by an LDC (Lower Division Clerk) at the MMC, and has yet to be recovered. He added that the police are still trying to locate the LDC.
The SCM has urged the Chief Minister to take the matter seriously, recover the misappropriated public funds, and reaffirm his commitment to combating corruption in government offices.
