PANJIM, SEPT 21
A non-governmental organisation (NGO) has siphoned off government funds, showing it as expenditure on salaries of non-existent persons, according to the Goa State Aids Control Society (GSACS), which has derecognised the NGO. The central funds were meant to be used in a targeted area for curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Sources in GSACS told Herald that NGO Desterro Eves Mahila Mandal, Mapusa, which is headed by the one Celsa Antao, had siphoned off funds to the tune of Rs 4 lakh. The NGO was given a targeted intervention project in Mapusa of educating 850 female sex workers about HIV/AIDS.
“There was a complaint to the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) that the funds meant for the Targeted Intervention Project was being misused. Following this, NACO directed GSACS to investigate the matter,” sources said.
GSACS set up an internal committee, whose investigations concluded that the NGO was guilty of misappropriating funds, sources stated. The committee found that the NGO had shown an expenditure of nearly Rs4 lakh towards payment of salaries to workers who were actually never in existence.
“We have recovered around 3.07 lakh from the NACO,” the sources stated.
However, GSACS has not lodged any complaint against the NGO with the police. Project Director Dr Pradeep Padwal said: “We have taken necessary action and recovered the amount,” adding, “we did not have much problem to recover the money.”
GSACS annually gets Rs 7 crore from NACO, out of which Rs2.5 crore is used for Targeted Intervention Projects.
“We have 18 NGOs (excluding Desterro) working on Targeted Intervention Projects, which cover high risk groups like sex workers, their clients, truck drivers, etc,” he said.
