-- Samir Umarye
- *Councillors allege that Chief Officer of SMC is acting at the behest of a minister and bypasses the council on administrative matters. DMA needs to resolve the issue in the interest of the people.* *BICHOLIM*: With Sanquelim Municipal Council (SMC) and Chief Officer Raju Gawas trading allegations against each other, municipal affairs have come to a standstill. SMC Chairperson Anand Naik has accused Gawas of becoming a “puppet” in the hands of politicians and had also demanded immediate transfer of the officer. “We demand the immediate transfer of the chief officer, who is arrogant and acts in high-handed manner while dealing with municipal affairs,” Naik had claimed. It may be recalled that the war between Chief Officer Gawas and the council has been going on for last few months. “A minister through a letter recommended names of four locals to be employed in the municipality. When we got the letter, we immediately convened a meeting and it was unanimously decided not to employ any more staff due to a financial crunch,” said Naik. “But the chief officer suddenly appointed two persons without consulting the council and without taking any interview,” alleged Naik. “Besides, there are several other instances through which the chief officer is harassing us and we have already given him a memo asking him for an explanation,” added Naik. “As per the memo dated July 1, 2011, we have asked the chief officer to reply why action should not be taken against him for verbally abusing me, failing to follow required procedures while making payments, by-passing the standing committee on select occasions, failure to curtail illegal activities, using municipal vehicle for personal use,” he said. “He is not only harassing the council, but also the workers. He has filed a bogus complaint against the municipal driver without any reason,” said Deputy Chairman Deelip Desai. “He uses municipal vehicle as his personal vehicle and takes it home every Friday and returns only on Monday,” alleged Desai. “As per the rule, chairman should sign on every bill of the municipality, but the chief officer is not following this,” added Desai. “When the chairman brought this to the notice of Director of Municipal Administration, Naik was verbally abused by the chief officer. We will not tolerate such behaviour, as insult of the chairman is insult of the people of Sanquelim.” *CO REFUTES ALLEGATIONS* *BICHOLIM*: SMC Chief Officer Raju Gawas has refuted allegations by SMC Chairperson Anand Naik, but declined to comment in the matter. SMC sources, however, explained that the four persons were employed at the instructions of the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA). “The DMA in a letter dated May 13, 2011, had directed the chief officer to employ four persons on contract basis and accordingly, two persons were absorbed in July,” said sources. “The SMC convenes meetings after every 15 days and decides upon something which is beyond their purview,” the source added. “The council cannot issue a memo to the chief officer and he does not need council's approval to sanction the work to the contractors for the funds provided by the government.” “The administration has mentioned where and how the funds should be allocated. The allegations have risen as the chief officer tried to do away with corruption while issuing tenders,” added sources.
