Team Herald
MARGAO: A group of citizens from Margao has submitted their third complaint to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, the Chief Secretary, the Vigilance Secretary, and the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA), highlighting recurrent financial frauds at the Margao Municipal Council (MMC).
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The citizens expressed frustration over the inaction of these authorities, despite their previous complaints, which they believe have led to repeated instances of financial misappropriation.
In their latest complaint, the citizens allege that an amount of Rs 2.4 lakh was misappropriated through fraudulent means in the Sopo Collection contract, claiming that the Margao Municipal Council executed a “benami” contract (made in the name of another person) with a civil contractor, while the actual fee collection was carried out by individuals associated with local politicians.
The complaint points out two critical omissions in the contract—penalties for delayed payments and adjustments for increased instalments during contract extensions—which resulted in a financial loss to the council. Specifically, the MMC is said to have lost around Rs 5.40 lakh due to its failure to enforce the contract terms and an additional Rs 3.5 lakh in penalties.
Savio Coutinho, a representative of the citizen group, mentioned that earlier complaints had warned the authorities of potential manipulation of the Sopo Collection contract. According to Coutinho, the waiver of Rs 2, 39,800 granted to the contractor was in violation of contract clause ‘6.d’, which prohibits the contractor from collecting fees from feast fairs. He also pointed to an earlier case where over Rs 15 lakh was misappropriated by an LDC (Lower Division Clerk) of the MMC, but the funds remain unaccounted for, and the individual is still untraceable.
The citizens have expressed their dismay at the authorities’ apparent lack of action and called on the Chief Minister to intervene, recover the misappropriated funds, and uphold a commitment to fighting corruption.
They warned that if no action is taken, they will be compelled to approach the court of law. The complaint highlights a growing concern about the misuse of public funds and the alleged corruption within the Margao Municipal Council.
