Gambling, sale of booze at premises meant for Colva panchayat ghar

COLVA: From flouting clauses of lease agreements to carrying out illegal activities, the Colva panchayat is facing some serious heat from authorities. Premises meant for a panchayat ghar and community hall currently house 10 shops with one of them operating a matka business.
South Goa collector and district magistrate Ajit Roy’s show cause notice as to why the land issued to the local body should not be reverted to the government has opened a can of worms.Built in 2000, the premises were never used as a panchayat ghar and community hall. Instead, in violation of the agreement with the tourism department, the land is being used for commercial purposes.
In 1992, 500sqm of land belonging to the tourism department was granted to the local body. In 2000, the panchayat inaugurated the premises but instead of a panchayat ghar, they built 10 shops on the ground floor and a hall on the first floor.
As per RTI information with TOI, the same year the local body signed nine perpetual leases while one shop remained vacant.
As per the perpetual leases signed for 10 years, the lessees were to pay the panchayat Rs 2,000 per month, on the condition that the panchayat would not grant permission to set up bars, workshops, garages and small factory drugs.
However, the commercial activities which were prohibited are being carried out at the premises and it also includes gambling (matka) in a shop that was never leased out by the panchayat. The RTI reply by the panchayat office states that it does not have any record of this shop. “In this case, to whom does the rent go to?” asked panch member Pio Furtado.
Furtado said the perpetual lease holders have sub-let the premises at a much higher rent. He said two shops that back each other have been connected to form one unit. A site visit by TOI confirmed this. While the lease holder is paying the panchayat a small amount, he is receiving Rs 12,000 in rent.
In another shop the original ‘lessee’ is operating a wholesale liquor store in violation of the lease agreement. Another two shops have been sold at a price close to Rs 20 lakh. And the only unleased shop is unofficially rented out to a matka agent. The agent told TOI he pays a monthly rent of Rs 12,000 but refused to divulge the name of his landlord.
Sarpanch Anthony Fernandes washed his hands of the entire case stating that his predecessors signed the leases in 2000. When informed about the illegalities, he said, “My predecessors allowed it to continue, why should the current body intervene?”
Panchayat secretary Amol Tilva said he has been transferred to Colva panchayat a week ago and is in the process of studying the file to reply to the show cause notice.
The top floor, meant for a community hall, now houses the office of the junior electrical engineer and Colva traffic cell. There is no record with the panchayat office whether these two government entities are paying any rent to the panchayat.
Calvert Gonsalves who was a panch member in 1992 said that the gram sabha had adopted a resolution not to shift the panchayat office as it was centrally located and hence the plans were dropped. In its place the then ruling disposition decided to build shops and a community hall without any resolution being passed, he said.