TEAM HERALD
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MARGAO: The Anti-Corruption Bureau on Friday has asked for details from Cuncolim Municipal Chief Officer clarifications on the discrepancies pointed out by the audit, even as the ACB has constituted a two-member team of accountants to conduct a detailed probe into the Municipal accounts.
CMC Chief Officer Pravin Barad along with a Municipal staff were called by the ACB on Friday to seek details on the fixed deposit amount of Rs 40 lakh, which the audit said did not reflect in the municipal cash book.
Sources said the CMC Chief Officer was also told to furnish clarifications on the audit report in respect of the cell phones purchased by the civic body. Clarifications were also sought on the orders placed by the civic body for RCC slabs. “We have only asked for clarifications from the Chief Officer as part of the ongoing investigations. We will verify the revelations made in the audit report by going through the account books,” remarked an officer in the ACB.
It is learnt that the officer will be headed to the Cuncolim Municipal Council on Saturday itself and the civic body has been told to keep open the municipality for inspection.
The CMC had come under the ACB scanner after the audit by the Accountant General of India highlighted certain discrepancies, including the fixed deposit of Rs 40 lakh, which was allegedly not shown in the municipal cash book.
Incidentally, one of the ACB officers is believed to have asked the CMC Chief Officer as to why the CMC’s night soil tanker is lying abandoned at Mapusa along the highway since the last couple of months.
