Team Herald
CANACONA: Despite stability in the panchayat, Cottigao, comprising seven wards, has not seen any sort of development for the last 5 years except for underground cabling of electrical transmission lines.
The members elected to this panchayat included Mrs Meena Umesh Gaonkar, Mr Datta Jorago Velip, Mr Paik Mhalgo Velip, Mr Anant Mukund Dessai, Mr Vaishnavi Vasant Velip. Meena Umesh Gaonkar was elected sarpanch (reserved for ladies) and. Datta Jorgo Velip the deputy sarpanch.
When Herald inspected the audit report for 2015-16 it was learnt that the financial position of the Panchayat is not good. The panchayat largely depends on govt grants to finance its activities. The report said the panchayat received Rs 75,000 as library grants and Rs 1 lakh for plastic collection grant and Rs 3 lakh and 34,000 as MGNREGA grants. Under the MGNREGA the works undertaken are bank stabilisation, repair of water channels, bush cutting on the road side, etc. There is one reliance mobile tower and the Panchayat receives Rs.10,000 per year as rent. There are seven shops in the panchayat ghar which pay rent regularly and two are not used.
According to the secretary Ramesh Komarpant, no work is executed by panchayat for 2015-16 not even a construction licence has been issued. He claims there is no illegal construction in the village.
The panchayat has not prepared annual action plan for 2015-16, and a bill payment register is also not maintained. However, when Herald visited all the wards of the panchayat they were found hot-mixed with road marking carried out neatly.
The panchayat is having regular gram sabhas, however, no quorum is established during the gram sabhas.
Avali village in the panchayat jurisdiction, which has about 1500 residents, does not have a motorable road and no piped water supply. There is one more village in the panchayat with 14 households where there is no PWD water supply, no electricity and no road.
It was also brought to the notice of Herald that there are 3 villages namely Keri, Nadkem and Yendrem where the people are reportedly being harassed by the Forest Department is harassing the tribals of this village and object during house repair and they are not allowed to construct wells etc.
saying that they are staying in wildlife sanctuary.
As reported by Herald a few weeks ago there are several minor bridges in the panchayat jurisdiction of Cottigao panchayat which are in dilapidated conditions and about to collapse.
