PANJIM: Gram Sabha meetings will come under the government scanner as the cabinet made it mandatory to video record proceedings of all gram sabha meetings.
Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, addressing the media after the cabinet meeting, said the demands had come from panchayats themselves.
“There was a demand from panchayats as there were some incidents reported and hence the cabinet has made it compulsory for all panchayats to have video
recordings along with the minutes of the meeting,” Parsekar said.
“The minutes’ book and the video recording will now become an official part of the records in panchayats,” he said.
Asked what was the need for this, he replied, “This is done for fair and smooth functioning of the Gram Sabhas.”
Replying to a query the chief minister said that no financial support will be given to panchayats for the purpose and they would have to do it on their own.
In another decision, the State cabinet okayed the renovation of the former Fort Aguada Jail under the central financial scheme. Parsekar said the Central government has sanctioned Rs 25.8 cr for rehabilitation of the heritage structure.
“Goa today is only known for the beaches and we want it to be known for heritage tourism also and hence we decided to renovate the old structures under the central scheme,” he said.
Parsekar said that Goa Tourism Development Corporation will be the nodal agency for implementing the project. “GTDC will prepare a master plan for renovation of Fort Aguada jail to a heritage tourism destination,” he said.
