Team Herald
MARGAO: The South Goa Zilla Panchayat neither has an independent office nor any powers for functioning, money to pay pending bills and full time engineers to start or complete processes of works. The entire functioning of the ZP has crashed due to deficiencies of unimaginable proportions.
The condition has worsened to such an extent that no contractors want to take the tenders of the Zilla Parishad works. The demand of the ZP to have more powers has been very old. The government had earlier decided to send a team of ZP members to Maharashtra to study the works of the ZP’s in that State and then start the process of disseminating powers to the ZP. But the tour and study never happened.
Now the problem has come to an extent where even the ruling BJP ZPs are angered due to the delay.
The anger was fuelled after the Panchayat Directorate sent part time engineers to the ZP from Margao municipality. These Engineers are seen once a week and all the works are held up till that time.
The ZP has done several development works all over Goa and have been waiting for inauguration. It is learnt that there has been no person with the ZP to commission these works and pay off the contractors of these jobs.
A contractor on the condition of anonymity said, “We have not been paid for years for the works we completed on time. Some contractors have been paid on time and our bills are still pending. We request the ZP to pay our bills on time.”
