VARCA: Reacting to the news report titled “Carmona development ‘stuck with GSIDC’, says Sarpanch” published on the Herald Tuesday May 25 edition on page 2, the Benaulim NCP MLA Churchill Alemao on Wednesday laid counter charges against the Carmona sarpanch Allwyn Jorge as well as the Benaulim sarpanch of not utilising the funds sanctioned for commemorating ‘Goa’s Golden Jubilee’ to undertake development works in their respective constituencies.
Reportedly, Jorge had lamented that the development proposals such as the Sports Upgradation project under the Deen Dayal scheme, football ground, Community centre/hall, etc. are all stuck with Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) due to lack of political political will. “The proposal for a football ground (estimated at Rs 8 crores) was put forth to the MLA and the Sports Upgradation project under the Deen Dayal scheme (initially estimated at Rs 1.8 crores) by the GSIDC gathered dust as there were no bidders for the tenders and required revised estimates to be submitted,” said Jorge.
Churchill firmly refuted these allegations and claimed that Jorge had not approached him regarding these proposals.
Churchill further claimed that these proposals were submitted prior to his being elected as the Benaulim legislator in 2017.
Churchill said, “The local MLA has to be approached regarding the development works to be undertaken in his constituency and the local MLA has to approve these proposals. Ask the Carmona sarpanch when these proposals were approved? They were approved before I was elected and Caitu was the Benaulim MLA then. The Carmona Sports Club president Yuri Ferrao had approached me but the Carmona panachayat had opposed so there was a delay. Similarly, since the past 10 years, a proposal for a football ground in Benaulim, too, was not done as there is an objection. But I have now given my approval to the GSIDC proposal for a football ground to be constructed worth Rs 8 crores in Carmona which is in process so the Carmona sarpanch should be patient.”
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