DPC Chairperson Nelly Rodrigues told Herald that she had no option but to postpone the meeting since she was told that most of the MLAs, especially the ruling MLAs, have gone out of station. Moreover, two members of the DPC, who are members of the Zilla Panchayat, South, affiliated to the BJP, are also believed to have headed to Maharashtra for electioneering. Besides, it is learnt that one of the DPC members celebrated her birthday on Friday, and hence could not make it for the meeting. Sources said only two municipal councillors confirmed their participation for the meeting. “Given the situation, I had little option than to postpone the meeting. I will re-convene the meeting after seeking confirmation from the DPC members”, Nelly said.
A meeting of the defunct DPC was called by Nelly to take stock of the situation since the district planning panel has so far failed to consolidate a single plan for South Goa district since its inception around 14 years ago. The meeting was also convened against the backdrop of the letter written by the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to District Collector to find the status of the DPC with the South Goa Zilla Chairperson given that the district has been losing huge central funds on account of the failure to put the DPC in place.
Incidentally, today’s DPC meeting was scheduled to deliberate on the requirement of an independent officer and statistical staff to support the DPC functioning. The meeting was also scheduled to seek necessary powers and directives from the government to keep the DPC going with the panel rendered defunct for want of support from the government agencies and local self-government bodies.
