the goan I network
MAPUSA
Stating that missing of files was a matter of concern, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said a probe should be conducted on the missing files and the official concerned should be held accountable. “Files from any department should not be lost. It is important to track the inward and outward movement of the file. Those who are in charge should be held accountable,” Sawant said.
The chief minister was responding after Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai raised the issue of missing files pertaining to the community farming scheme during the Zero Hour.
The Fatorda MLA said files for farmer clusters of Fatorda and Navelim went missing from the agriculture department even as the government has failed to take any action to locate or recreate the files.
Disclosing that around 13,408 hectares of land was lying fallow in the State, he said if government wanted to make use of this land then the only alternative was community farming. “This government may have an allergy of me but they should not have an allergy towards the scheme,” he said.
He said he had no doubt about bureaucrats manning the agriculture department but suspected the agriculture minister’s hand in disappearance of the files. “I think on your (pointing to the agriculture minister) instruction, the file has disappeared,” Sardesai said.
Agriculture Minister Babu Kavlekar admitted that the files were missing and the disappearing act happened just about when the former agriculture minister was sacked.
“I am not going to benefit in any way by taking the file. As soon as the former agriculture minister left, the file went missing. Where it went or where it got stuck is a mystery. We tried to trace the files and now we have also taken steps to recreate the files,” Kavlekar said.
