MARGAO: Macasana villagers approved a deficit budget on Sunday at the village gram sabha which was chaired by new sarpanch Caetano Vas. The gram sabha also discussed both the issues raised by villagers.
The gram sabha approved a budget with expenditure pegged at Rs 32 lakh even though the expected revenue is only Rs 20 lakh. The deficit budget is supported by the fact that the panchayat has an opening balance of Rs 87 lakh.
While the panchayat has earmarked Rs 15 lakh for developmental works, around Rs 4 lakh will be spent on administration and the panchayat aims to collect Rs 30 lakh by way of house tax.
Villager Franky D’Costa who raised the issue of the panchayat constructing a road through his property without taking his NOC, the sarpanch informed that on March 6, 2019 the panchayat had written to the BDO to pay compensation for the land used for the construction of the road.
He however admitted that there has been no response from the BDO and admitted that the panchayat lapsed in not following up on the matter. However, the sarpanch said that the panchayat will now follow up the case vigorously.
To a query on the post office being housed in panchayat premises which are in totally dilapidated condition, the sarpanch said that though post office is functioning from the old panchayat ghar, he cannot undertake any repairs as the post office is not paying the panchayat any rent for all these years.
The sarpanch informed the villagers that the MLA has promised to get the changing room constructed for the playground which has been constructed some years back but hardly used. “However we are organising a Panchayat Cup football tournament shortly on the ground,” the sarpanch said.
When some villagers complained about mobile network problems, the sarpanch pointed out that the panchayat and gram sabha have already approved erecting a mobile tower in the village and that there are some issues that need to be sorted out by the company and the owner of the land.
The gram sabha was attended by all the seven panchayat embers and 32 villagers.
