PANJIM: A three-member committee of IAS officers, constituted to inquire into alleged recruitment scam in the public works department (PWD) has submitted its preliminary report to the State government for further action. Following allegations, the government had in December, last year, kept on hold 360 posts of junior engineers and technical engineers- candidates for which they were selected, pending inquiry.
BJP’s Panjim MLA Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserate had charged the then PWD minister Deepak Pauskar of “selling engineer posts”, and had claimed that the scam is worth Rs 70 crore. Pauskar, however, had dismissed the allegations.
With Monserrate seeking intervention, the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had then constituted a three-member committee consisting of principal secretary Puneet Kumar Goel, special secretary (vigilance) Ankita Anand and the director of vigilance.
However, Goel, who was later elevated as the State Chief Secretary, stepped out of the committee due to conflict of interest, as he was allotted PWD and Vigilance portfolio. Accordingly, Secretary Sanjay Gihar was nominated to head the inquiry.
When contacted, Minister for PWD Nilesh Cabral said that “being a government appointed inquiry committee; the report will be submitted to the Chief Minister. The report is yet to come to me. I cannot comment anything as I don’t know what the findings are.”
