Activists drag Vasco civic chief, deputy to court
HERALD REPORTER
VASCO, NOV 22
Social activists and candidates, who lost in the recent Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) polls, have dragged the MMC chairperson, vice chairperson and councillors to court over elections to the general and reserved wards of MMC.
Social activists and candidates have filed a petition in the South Goa District Court, Margao, under Section 22 (1) of Goa Municipalities Act 1968 against MMC Chairperson Suchita Shirodkar, Vice Chairperson Manesh Arolkar, former MMC chairperson and councilor Sharad Chopdekar and newly elected councillors Tukaram Redkar and Premanand Nanoskar.
Petitioners Andre Fernandes, Yuraj Salgaonkar, Andrew D’Cunha, Alfred Azavedo, Urmila Salgaonkar and Mohana Salgaonkar have collected documents under the RTI, stating rampant usage of provisional OBC certificate signed by Mormugao Deputy Collector Levinson Martins, who was incidentally the returning officer during election.
Urmila Salgaonkar, who had contested against MMC Chairperson Suchita Shirodkar, has filed a petition against the chairperson stating that Shirodkar hails from Malvan-Maharastra and does not qualify the criteria for OBC certificate as provisional, not as per the criteria of caste by birth and migrant before 1968 and not checked by scrutiny committee.
Petitioner Andrew D’Cunha, who questioned the OBS status of Manesh Arolkar, explained that caste of father/parents, ceiling of income and migrant from a lower caste not a part of creamy layer before December 19, 1968, are considered for OBC certificate, but Arolkar has misinterpreted the facts to the returning officer in the document submitted.
“Arolkar’s financial returns reveal a robust real estate business, while his ration card and affidavit filed with nomination claimed a modest Rs 3.6 lakh as annual income, while a talathi report puts it at Rs 11.4 lakh, his status has remained unchecked before the election scrutiny committee,” said D’Cunha.
Similarly, OBC status of the newly elected Councilor Tukaram Redkar from Ward 5 and Councilor from Ward 19 Premanand Nanoskar has been questioned by petitioners Yuraj Salgaonkar and Mohana Salgaonkar.
The petitioners claimed that both, Redkar and Nanoskar, hails from Maharashtra and thus they does not qualify the criteria for OBC as certificate is provisional, not as per criteria of caste by birth and migrant before 1968 and not checked by scrutiny committee.
Besides, both the petitioners have cited as many as 13 other grounds, including corrupt practices by obtaining false caste status certificate.
Sharad Chopdekar, former MMC chairperson and councilor from Ward 6, has also been dragged in the court for alleged malpractices against him by petitioner Andre Fernandes.
Fernandes has alleged that the Desterro parish priest in a Sunday mass had expressed gratitude towards Chopdekar, who is alleged to have donated Rs 1 lakh of the promised Rs 7 lakh donation, towards building of a classroom.
