TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
VASCO: At a time when the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) has been hit by a financial crunch and is struggling to recover its dues, wilful negligence in following procedures has left the MMC poorer by Rs 2.81 lakh.
The MMC witnessed noisy scenes at its meeting on Tuesday after the councillors complained about the loss of interest on a fixed deposit of Rs 3.02 crore, which was sanctioned by the Congress government.
The auditors pointed out that the council has suffered a loss of Rs 2,81,133 as interest on fixed deposit of Rs 3.02 crore, which was allotted by the government as one-time Golden Jubilee grant.
Instead of putting the money in a fixed deposit, the council had deposited the grant in a savings account.
Councillor Tara Kerkar sought to know from Chairperson Fiola Rego and Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes why the amount was deposited in a savings account without a council resolution. She demanded to know who should be held responsible for the loss of interest and what the council will do to recover the loss.
Councillor Shekar Khadapkar also sought to know if any other bank had been approached to find out the interest rate on the fixed deposit and on what basis had the council deposited the amount in the savings account.
Rego and Fernandes, who recently had take charge of the council, failed to reply to the queries of the councillors as the incident had taken prior to their tenure. However, Rego said she will issue a memo to the accountant who, incidentally, has already been transferred.
Councillor Manish Arolkar suggested that the council, besides issuing a memo, should simultaneously conduct an enquiry in the matter.
According to sources in the municipality, a councillor along with a former MMC officer had deposited the amount in a private bank instead of a nationalised bank.
“It is surprising that the councillors, instead of nailing the culprits, were seen taking the chief officer and chairperson to task on the issue,” said the source.
