PANAJI
Sharp differences have surfaced in the Pramod Sawant-led Cabinet over the politically sensitive issue of delimitation and assigning reservations of wards of civic bodies in the State, eleven of which in addition to The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), are due to go to polls by March-end.
Slamming the process on Monday, Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho publicly expressed displeasure over the exercise notified by the government last week.
Godinho said he was not consulted during the process and added it could have been done in a better way.
“Reservation of wards could have been done in a much better way. I was not consulted and I was not in the know of what is happening whatsoever,” said Godinho, who was recently 'promoted' by Sawant by five notches to Number Four after the two Deputy Chief Ministers in the Cabinet's seniority pecking order.
When pressed by journalists whether the process was wrong, Godinho sought to duck the query saying: "I reserve my comments."
Almost 50 per cent of Godinho's Dabolim Assembly Constituency is covered by the jurisdiction of the Mormugao Municipal Council.
Elsewhere, the reservation and delimitation of wards of the CCP has brought Panaji MLA Atanasio Babush Monserrate under attack from various quarters including Surendra Furtado, who as mayor headed the ruling group owing allegiance to Monserrate.
Furtado charged that Monserrate and his 'coterie' conducted the delimitation and reservation of CCP wards themselves.
GRAM SABHAS TO RE-START: Godinho meanwhile said, directions have been issued to the Panchayat Director to restart 'gram sabhas' which had been halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I have given instruction to the director to ask panchayats to start Gram sabhas as they used to be held earlier,” Godinho said.
He also said that the first tranche of funds from the allocation made by the 15th Finance Commission has been received and the rural local bodies are directed to submit development proposals.
