Team Herald
MARGAO: Even as Margao prepares to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception on December 8, the Green Goa Foundation (GGF) has called for immediate action to recover the funds misappropriated by Margao municipality staff during the previous feast of the Pentecost held in May this year. The foundation has warned that it will approach the courts if no steps are taken to address the issue.
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In a letter addressed to Chief Officer Melvin Vaz, Raison Almeida, Chairman of GGF, expressed frustration over the lack of concrete action taken by the former Chief Officer to recover the stolen money, amounting to nearly Rs 18 lakh.
Almeida highlighted that the incident had caused public anger, as no visible steps had been taken to rectify the situation.
The fraud was reportedly connected to the collection of fees from stall operators during the feast fair in Margao, where a member of the municipal staff, a lower division clerk, was found to be involved in the scam.
GGF, which had played an instrumental role in organising various aspects of the feast fair for public interest and convenience, had initially approached the concerned authorities and eventually took the matter to the High Court.
“It is unfortunate that the former Chief Officer managed the crucial financial aspect of revenue collection for the feast fair so negligently and carelessly. Given the events that followed the discovery of this major fraud, one could infer that the negligence was wilful and that there was misplaced complicity in dealing with the fraudsters,” the GGF stated.
The organisation further urged the newly appointed Chief Officer to ensure that future arrangements for the upcoming feast and the collection of fees are handled in an orderly and transparent manner.
GGF emphasised that the public should not be inconvenienced, the reputation of the event should be preserved, and, most importantly, the revenue generated from the feast should be deposited in a timely manner.
