Team Herald
MARGAO: Keeping private needs over public demands, the Colva panchayat shocks villagers by closing the panchayat office for half-day to attend the funeral mass of a relative of a staff of the panchayat. The panchayat had a scheduled tender opening on Monday, which was cancelled due to lack of staff at panchayat office.
The Colva panchayat office is a public office, where the affairs of the Colva panchayat are handled.
Brazenly, the Colva Sarpanch issued a notice and pasted it on the notice board of the panchayat, stating that ‘The Panchayat office will remain closed during evening session i.e. on September 11, due to the funeral mass of our staff member’s father.’
The notice was issued on the Colva panchayat letterhead and was signed by Sarpanch Antonio Fernandes.
Later in the evening, the Panchayat Director confirmed that a public office cannot be kept closed due to any reason, except in case of public holiday and if someone intends to skip work, they can take leave and proceed.
It may be recalled that the panchayat had functioned even after the death of a sitting panch in the past. But it is surprising to learn how a sarpanch closed operations of a public office, even after a tender opening on Monday evening, said a villager from Colva.
The Sarpanch clarified saying that due to unavoidable circumstances he took on the decision and drew the notice to keep the panchayat office closed.
When asked whether he consulted the secretary, he replied that the secretary was in court and could not be contacted.
He also said the Panchayat had earlier sent a letter to the BDO intimating cancellation of the tender opening scheduled on Monday.
However, though the Sarpanch has cited ‘unavoidable circumstances,’ the panchayat is set to face flak due to the incident.
