‘Unused funds in p’yat to be diverted for Swachh Bharat’

Panaji:Panchayat ministerMauvin Godinho said that the unutilised funds from the 14th and 15th finance commissions will be diverted to manage garbage under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) across village panchayats that have failed to utilise these funds effectively.
Godinho said that govt will formulate a scheme soon to ensure that unutilised funds are efficiently used for the SBM programme.“This initiative aims to address the cleanliness issues that are currently not being tackled effectively by panchayats,” he said.
The minister told TOI that funds from the commission are currently available with the panchayats, as the funds are directly allocated to the panchayat bodies by the central govt. However, funds remain unutilised, with some panchayats opting to keep the money in fixed deposits and earn interest on it.
“This practice goes against the intended purpose of the funds, which is meant for development,” Godinho said.
He said that in an effort to manage garbage scientifically under SBM, the state is working on empanelling agencies in consultation with the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC).
“The plan is to have around 20 contractors, giving panchayats the freedom to choose any one of them. Panchayats will also have the option to continue working with their existing contractors, provided they empanel with GWMC,” he said.
He denied allegations that files of development works in village panchayats were not cleared on time by his department. “In the past, files needed to be forwarded to the PWD for obtaining technical sanction. However over the last couple of years, we have established our own technical cell. Our engineers now prepare estimates for proposals received from panchayats. They clear these proposals in under a month,” he said.

“With young individuals as panchas, there is a strong enthusiasm to bring a positive change in their respective wards.” he further said.