the goan I network
MARGAO
Uproar marked the gram sabha of the Betalbatim panchayat after agitated members forced the cancellation of the meeting on Sunday, leaving Sarpanch Constancio Miranda with no option but to call for a fresh meeting tentatively on June 30.
Trouble began when former MLA Mickky Pacheco along with other gram sabha members questioned Sarpanch Constancio for presiding over an adjourned meeting when the gram sabha at the April 27 meeting had forced the chair to reschedule the meeting.
While the gram sabha members insisted that today’s meeting cannot be adjourned and hence they cannot be denied the right to place new questions of public interest, the Sarpanch maintained that the previous meeting was adjourned by the gram sabha.
The Sarpanch maintained that the panchayat body decided not to take fresh and new questions at the gram sabha for the simple reason that the rules bars the panchayat from taking fresh questions at an adjourned gram sabha.
Heated arguments broke out between the agitated gram sabha members and the chair, with both the sarpanch and the panchayat secretary insisting that the members had decided at the
last meeting to adjourned the meeting.
Incidentally, when Mickky and the gram sabha members demanded to know the names of the proposers and the seconders to the resolution to adjourn the previous gram sabha, neither the chair nor the secretary could cite the names.
Left with no option as the gram sabha members continued their protest over the meeting, the Sarpanch decided to finally cancel the gram sabha and to hold a fresh meeting tentatively on
June 30.
The sarpanch announced that the fresh meeting will not only transact the business listed on today’s meeting agenda, but will take new questions submitted by the members.
Mickky later told the media that he decided to protest at the gram sabha since the panchayat did not take his public interest related questions on the plea that new questions cannot be taken up at an adjourned meeting.
“Basically, the panchayat wanted to rush with the adjournment so that the public interest related questions are not taken up today. However, the sarpanch relented to the demands of the members to cancel the meeting since neither the sarpanch nor the secretary could cite the names of the proposers and seconders to the resolution adjourning the last meeting”, he said.
Sarpanch Constancio pointed out that no fresh questions were taken up at Sunday’s meeting since it was an adjourned one, adding that the rules barred him from taking up fresh applications or questions for discussion.
He said today’s meeting was forced to be cancelled and the next will take up questions listed for today and also
new ones.
