Team Herald
MARGAO: Several major panchayats of Salcete have been deprived of the funds for pre-monsoon works in their villages. As a result, many of the drains, trees and bushes besides the major roads of the villages and interior have remained untidy. The failure in cleaning of drains has also resulted in flooding of roads and water entering into the houses. The panchayats have now begun calling the Government of “announcement and no delivery of promises.”
Pre-monsoon works which are meant to be a preparation for the rains have become post monsoon works for several villages in Salcete as the PWD has failed to get the major works of the villages done. The bushes, drains, trees of villages remain the same as monsoon already completed one week of arrival in Goa.
“The pre-monsoon works, like cleaning of the drains and cutting of bushes, has to be necessarily done before the monsoons. But the Panchayat has been forced to spend from its own coffers aggravating the already bad condition of the panchayat funds,” said Ilha De Rachol Sarpanch Joseph Vaz.
The panchayats’ members, who visited the PWD and questioned them on the funds, were told that the PWD claimed of having received no approval from the Government for the works of pre-monsoon. “Labour has become so costly nowadays that the panchayat funds take a bad hit. Rest of the panchayats use the NREGA scheme to get the works done” told J. Santana Rodrigues.
As a result, several drains are now choked and constant power supply has been interrupted due to falling of tree branches.
“The Government of Goa and mostly the Departments have become authorities of announcement and there is no delivery of services to the general public. Even the Swacch Bharat fund is not being released to the panchayats for the execution of cleanliness in the areas,” said Sarpanch Vaz.
