Team Herald
PANJIM: In yet another stinging order involving Waste Management Minister Michael Lobo, the Goa Lokayukta has come down strongly against the former NGPDA chairman and the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation for misuse of power to favour a private builder. In another order, the Lokayukta had said the Lobo was unfit to be a minister and must resign.
The petitioner Anthony D’Souza had approached the Goa Lokayukta stating that he is the owner of survey no 81/7 and a portion is shown as muddy path by the Directorate of Settlement and Land Records. It is asserted by him that the width of such muddy pathway is about three metres.
“Such muddy pathway has been forcibly tarred by the GSIDC without legal authority and without any land acquisition process,” the complainant had said. He alleged that the road work was carried out to favour a private builder.
The Lokayukta order said, “It is crystal clear that the concerned road was a kaccha road and the private company which was proposing to construct number of villas wanted that it should be converted into proper public road/proper motorable access passing towards the project of Red Stone Spaces and with the blessing of the local MLA (equivalent to God?) and some obliging officials and Sarpanch/Secretary, the private company appears to have succeeded as the Village Panchayat suddenly took U-turn passing the resolution to effect”.
The Lokayukta observed that from the various RTI applications and answers that the probable cost for construction of such road was never officially estimated nor it was ever decided that such road would be asphalted at the cost of GSIDC or Village Panchayat and it is further apparent that Red Stone Spaces wrote to PI with a copy to Michael Lobo, then MLA, requesting for Police help for construction of essentially a private road to provide excess to Red Stone Spaces without any formal land acquisition and without any NOC from the owner of the land through whose property the part of the pathway was passing and road has been constructed and tarred.
“The important question is why the MLA was approached? The further question is why the MLA immediately wrote to the then Chief Minister and the then Chief Minister without even bothering to find out anything readily agreed to the suggestion of the MLA,” the Lokayukta asked.
The order says that the most important question is as to the basis on which the GSIDC, which is a public sector undertaking, undertook the work of asphalting the road including the muddy pathway by spending huge amount from public exchequer without any resolution of GSIDC.
“The answer is provided by the GSIDC to this institution and the stand taken by GSIDC as well as its MD Sanjit Rodrigues who had signed the Written in the Civil Court. In such reply before this Institution it has been very shamelessly and brazenly admitted that said work was undertaken on the basis of the instructions of the MLA. Such stand has been repeated in several paras of written statement before the Civil Court and of the comments before this Institution,” it says.
Also, it says, the various RTI application and documents on record do not show that any formal estimate was done by the official consultant nor any work order was passed for this particular work undertaken by GSIDC and GSIDC including respondent no. 3A (Sanjith) bent significantly backward in obliging the private company which apparently had the blessings of the local MLA.
“The responsibility or rather irresponsibility of Sanjith Rodrigues (Respondent no. 3A who was the MD of GSIDC) is writ-large. On account of such nefarious activities of GSIDC including its MD, benefit has been conferred on a private company which in fact had undertaken from very inception to construct the road at its own cost. If the above is not maladministration, misuse of power, abuse of power and favouritism, one has to search for the meaning of such expressions through the jaundiced vision of the concerned MD, the concerned Village Panchayat and may be the concerned MLA,” the order read.
The Lokayukta said that it is the eternal shame of this Nation, including Goa, that spineless people like Rodrigues are protected by their political God fathers and they are rewarded in their service career by being promoted ahead of more forthright officers and being posted in one lucrative post to another lucrative post.
“It is also eternal shame that persons like Respondent no. 2 (GSIDC) tend to create vested interest by currying favour from the unscrupulous politicians, who without batting an eyelid indulge in favouritism,” the order states.
