In HC, govt defends clearance of chief town planner’s extension

Panaji: The vigilance department submitted to the high court of Bombay at Goa that vigilance clearance was given to Rajesh Naik for an extension in service as chief town planner because only a preliminary inquiry against him was ongoing, and there was no FIR or chargesheet registered against him. The private complaint filed against him was not of such a nature to withhold the grant of vigilance clearance, Amarsen Wamanrao Rane, director of vigilance, submitted to the high court in an affidavit.

Last month, the high court issued notice to govt in a public interest litigation by Swapnesh Sherlekar, challenging Naik’s authority to hold the office of the chief town planner, and seeking his removal from office. The PIL alleged gross suppression and concealment of material facts by the deputy director of vigilance, who sent a letter to the personnel dept stating that there was no vigilance complaint whatsoever pending against Naik, on the basis of which an extension of service was granted to him.

Regarding the complaint made in Oct 2023 at the anti-corruption branch (ACB), Rane said the ACB stated that allegations levelled in the complaint relate to procedural lapses, which do not attract provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and no action on the part of ACB is warranted. In a similar complaint in the same month regarding cheating Goa govt through forgery and criminal breach of trust by misusing an official post to enrich a friend who is a PWD employee, Rane said a preliminary inquiry is ongoing and will be concluded within a month.

“As the preliminary inquiry against respondent no. 6 (Rajesh Naik) was ongoing and there was no FIR or chargesheet registered against him, and the private complaint filed also was not of such a nature so as to withhold the grant of vigilance clearance, the vigilance clearance dated June 14, 2024, was granted,” he stated. Thereafter, the cabinet in its meeting on Aug 28, 2024, decided to extend Naik’s services for a period of one year. The three criminal cases registered against him are pending before JMFCs in Pernem, Panaji, and Mapusa and are in the nature of private complaints. All three filed in Aug/Sep 2024, that is, after the vigilance clearance dated June 14, 2024, was granted, Rane stated, adding that the private complaints are pending completion of the stage of verification.

The directorate of vigilance received nine more complaints against Naik from 2016 to 2024, which will be taken to their logical conclusion at the earliest. In the event any further request is received for fresh vigilance clearance, the directorate of vigilance shall deal with the same after taking into consideration the outcome of the ongoing preliminary enquiry and other complaints received and pending for preliminary enquiry at the vigilance dept, the high court was told.
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