MARGAO: Major drama unfolded at a stormy special meeting of the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) when councillors from the ruling and opposition panels grilled both the Chief Officer (CO) Gaurish Sankwalkar and Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar over the confirmed misappropriation of Rs 17.44 lakh by a Lower Division Clerk (LDC) employed by the Council.
The funds were part of the revenue collected from the Feast Fair held last month.
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The outcome of the fiery meeting held on Friday evening was a resolution passed to register a police complaint against the LDC as soon as the council gets legal opinion from its counsel about not just the FIR to be lodged, but also how the matter will play out in the courts. Shirodkar stated that this was necessary so that MMC has a strong legal case and the LDC does not escape any consequences.
When pushed for a timeline, with councillors demanding that it be filed immediately, Shirodkar said it could be filed either by Friday night or Saturday. However, sources stated that there is a chance it could be filed on Monday or Tuesday.
The CO added that the draft copy of the FIR was ready.
It was also resolved to file a suit against the LDC to begin recovery proceedings for the amount that is due to the civic body.
Responding to demands from the councillors, the CO also agreed to issue memos to all the others involved in the collection of fees from the stalls put up at the fair. The councillors demanded an impartial inquiry, which was agreed upon.
The councillors also questioned why there was not a better and more secure system for stall owners to pay their funds and said the bank should have set up a counter at the MMC where the stall owners could have deposited their funds directly. They also called for stopping the system of collecting fees at the site of the stalls as there is a risk of thieves targeting the MMC staff transporting these amounts from the fair to the municipality.
The councillors questioned why the Council got to know about the fraud only 20 days after the fair. The Chairperson who was on the backfoot, admitted that there were procedural lapses, but kept trying to shift the blame to the CO.
While the Chairperson claimed he was tracking the matter daily by speaking to the staff, who he insinuated should have informed him of this fraud, the Chief Officer said he was on leave and that he had taken action to suspend the LDC the day he resumed duty.
While trying to defend himself, the Chairperson gave the example of two other financial irregularities that took place recently at the MMC but this only exposed the glaring faults and negligence on part of MMC staff. One such case was where a bank came to inquire about a loan application of a staff, where the salary details of the said staff was not confirmed, and the other was a case where the Municipal Inspector paid from his own pocket to settle a small amount that was missing in the final accounts.
Suspended clerk offers to return stolen funds, ‘only in installments’
Chaos erupted during the meeting when it was revealed that the LDC, who has been suspended, came to the municipality on Friday morning and submitted a letter to the council, wherein he acknowledged his fault and expressed willingness to pay back the sum- but in instalments only.
The Chairperson publicly reprimanded his staff for not informing him about this letter, the contents of which he read out to the councillors.
Shirodkar also stated that the council would not be accepting the letter. He said hypothetically, if the LDC had offered to pay back the full amount, they would have accepted it only if it was done within 24-48 hours.
