Allegations of a scam have been unearthed with respect to the monthly garbage fee collected from select wards of Margao. The Shadow Municipal Council (SCM) has filed a written complaint with the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) demanding for an inquiry into these allegations and have demanded for an inquiry into the alleged siphoning of MMC funds.
The allegation is that from the period of November 2015 till April 2016 – money that was collected in the form of a monthly fee for the door to door garbage collection from both households and commercial units did not reach the municipal treasury.
It is to be noted that since the month of April 2016, the council has stopped the collection of garbage fees from the doorstep.
The alleged scam pertains only to a few of the total 25 wards. The alleged scam amounts to the tune of Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh per month, collected as waste collection fees by allegedly adopting unfair practices.
According to the complainant, apart from the Self Help Group (SHG) workers, there were a dozen of municipal paid daily wage workers who are entrusted the job of waste collection. The select wards where the alleged corruption took place pertain only to these select wards where the municipal workers were engaged in garbage collection.
The loophole existed here in these select wards as the in the remaining wards that are covered by the SHGs, the monthly fee collected was used to pay the SHG workers as per their self sustaining model. In these remaining wards, the question of money needed to be deposited in the municipal treasury did not arise.
The shadow council has leveled the charge against municipal officials of taking advantage of the system and being behind the scam.
“Most of the public are not aware about the intricacies involved and who are the self help group workers and who are the municipal workers. They pay the monthly fee to the worker who comes to their door step and get a receipt,” said Agustinho Da Gama.
Agustinho who is part of the SCM has alleged that the municipal workers would fraudulently issue receipts in the name of SHGs instead of municipality receipts to collect the monthly garbage fee and that this is how the garbage collection fees were siphoned of every month.
Speaking to Herald, MMC chief officer Y B Tawde acknowledged having receiving such a complaint but categorically denied that such a scam exists and gave a clean chit to the municipal staff.
Tawde further informed that the Municipality had spoken to the complainant and presented records of genuine receipts for garbage collection fees collected, which refuted the claims of corruption.
This was in response to an RTI application submitted on January 25, 2016 requesting for information of the total amount of garbage collection fees collected by the council during the month of November and December 2016, along with certified copies of slip book.
“The information furnished to us states that during the month of November and December, garbage fees collected by the municipality was from ward number 20 only. And the total amount deposited in the municipal office is Rs 28900. Surprisingly the amount as per copies of slips furnished totals up to Rs 23400. Meaning that either the municipal official concerned has been generous to the council by depositing 5500 extra or as cited by us earlier, all the receipt books are not submitted to the council,” said SCM member Savio Coutinho.
“We have evidence to suggest that garbage fees were collected from other wards including ward no 15 and 16 by the municipal employed daily wage workers but the amount has not reached the treasury. It’s very sad to say that absolutely no action has been taken in this regard and the council has no interest to check the funds being misappropriated,” added Savio.
