Team Herald
MARGAO: A gram sabha (GS) meeting was conducted in Sao Jose de Areal village after one year’s time, much to the annoyance of the local villagers.
Moreover, the GS had to be adjourned for the next Sunday so that the meeting could be concluded. This was the first GS meeting under the new panchayat body.
Speaking to media persons post the meeting, activist Freddy Travasso said the meeting was held a year and month after the previous GS was conducted in the month of October 2021.
He however lamented that that were major discrepancies in the manner in which the minutes of the previous meeting had been recorded.
Villagers objected to the omission of certain points that had been discussed in the previous GS meeting.
On another topic, the villagers also raised questions to the expenditure of the previous panchayat body where over a lakh had been spent for the work on the drainages in eleven wards.
While the villagers said that such work had not been carried out in their wards, they demanded that an FIR be registered against the previous panchayat body given that there were no records of any inspection been held regarding the drainage works.
However, the biggest issue at the GS was when the villagers demanded that the Sarpanch Joyce Dias and secretary Edwin Carvalho apologise for not making announcements properly or how the meeting was conducted. The Sarpanch refused to do so but the deputy Sarpanch Valente Fernandes and the Secretary apologised.
