MARGAO: Responding to the show cause notices issued by the Directorate of Panchayats on the alleged purchase of materials to the tune of over Rs 85 lakh under the 14th Finance Commission without following proper procedure, a group of five panch members of the Raia Village Panchayat have clarified that they are not involved in the alleged scam and demanded that the main culprits be punished.
On Monday, Godfrey Oswald Souza, Deputy Sarpanch, along with panch members Jacinta Dias, Triforphnio Cardozo, Cynthia Fernandes, and Mario D’Souza filed their replies to the show cause notices before the authority concerned.
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In their replies, they have urged the department to provide them with the documents pertaining to who had filed the complaint and against whom.
It is pertinent to note that the six panch members along with former Sarpanch Judas Quadros were served notices by the Directorate of Panchayats with regards to alleged purchase of various materials amounting to over Rs 85 lakh under the 14th Finance Commission without following the proper procedure and they were directed to file their replies within seven days.
Speaking to O Heraldo, Godfrey Oswald D’Souza, Deputy Sarpanch, said that the show cause notice is served to the then panchayat secretary too and they are in trouble for no fault of theirs.
“All procedures were supposed to be done by the panchayat secretary and it is his duty to guide the panchayat from a legal point of view, besides taking care of the panchayat’s administrative functioning,” he stated.
On behalf of other four panch members, the deputy sarpanch clarified that materials were not taken by any panch member as they have signed the unofficial register so that the material is placed in their respective wards.
“We, the five panch members, are not involved in any illegal matters and hence demand that the real culprit be punished to ensure that the truth is exposed. As per the show cause notice, it is very much clear that there is no complaint against us, but against the panchayat secretary and the then sarpanch,” said D’Souza.
He informed that they were told by the then Sarpanch that the panchayat will not get any funds under 15th Finance Commission without utilising the grants under 14th Finance Commission.
The deputy sarpanch said that the culprits should be punished if any scam is proved in the matter and added that he has full faith in the government that justice will be delivered.
Meanwhile, sources informed that taking serious note of the above issue, the panchayat secretary concerned and the block development officer have been transferred and the department is in the process of initiating further action.
