Officials delay in handing bldg meant for Colva panchayat to govt

Colva: Commercial business at the

Colva

panchayat ghar building continues even though the local body has cancelled the trade licences of the establishments operating there and has revoked the perpetual leases of all 10 shops.

An order was issued directing that the shops be sealed and that the collector take possession of the shops. The entire premises was then supposed to be handed over to the government.

In 1992, 500sqm of land belonging to the tourism department was handed over to the panchayat to build a panchayat ghar. However, instead of a housing the panchayat office, the building which was inaugurated in 2000 had 10 shops on its ground floor and a hall on the first floor, violating an agreement signed with the tourism department.

Repeated requests by the department to stop commercial activity at the premises were ignored. It finally directed South Goa collector Ajit Roy to take possession of the land and premises and hand it back to the government.

In October 2019, a showcause notice was issued to the panchayat by the collector asking why the land given to the local body for a panchayat ghar and community hall should not be handed back to the government. The panchayat then issued showcause notices to the lease holders of the shops. In its reply to the collector, the panchayat said it had issued showcause notices. The collector rejected the reply and in November, 2019, directed the mamlatdar to take possession of the Colva panchayat ghar within seven days.

Colva panchayat secretary, Amol Tilve said the talathi was ordered by Salcete mamlatdar Prataprao Gaonkar to seal the premises.

An order dated December 16, 2019, from Gaonkar directed Tilve to hand over the property to the talathi with seven days. However, it was not complied with. Another memorandum to this effect was sent to Tilve in January. It also stated that if the premises were not handed over to the talathi, they would be sealed and costs recovered from the secretary himself.

Tilve denied receiving the memorandum and said the mamlatdar could not direct him as his superior was the block development officer. He also said sealing of the premises needed to be done by the talathi because the Goa Panchayat Raj Act does not permit a secretary to do so. Tilve further said that one of the leaseholders of the shops had approached the district court and had received an ex parte order not to cancel the trade licence.


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