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Aldona Pancha Demands Rs 1 Lakh ‘Bribe’ For Permission To Carry Out Repairs To Ancestral House
MAPUSA: In a glaring example of corruption at the Panchayat level, a ward member or Pancha from the Aldona Panchayat in the Bardez taluka of Goa, openly demanded Rs 1 Lakh as a bribe from a local Goan resident who wished to carry out repairs and renovation to his ancestral property before the monsoons.
Since the resident did not show any inclination to “settle with the ward member”, the concerned ward member approached the Panchayat officials with a complaint and a stop work notice was promptly issued to the “contractor on site” to immediately stop the work of repairs.
Speaking to this reporter, the resident (who did not want to be named) said he has voice recordings to prove his allegations. “The original demand was for Rs one lakh, which was later on brought down to Rs 60,000/-,” the Aldonkar alleged.
According to the Aldonkar, the local contractor told him no permission was required to carry out repairs and restoration to an ancestral house, prior to the monsoon. “The roof of the house has collapsed. The walls have got leaky and rain water seeps in through the minute cracks. We need to repair the roof and re-plaster and waterproof the walls,” he said.
IndyaTv.in has accessed WhatsApp chat screenshots and other evidence, including voice recordings to prove that a bribe was indeed demanded by the panch member.
The panch member Pranesh D Naik who has been accused of allegedly demanding a “bribe” of Rs one lakh has been marked on the ‘stop work order’ by a notice issued by the Aldona Panchayat and signed by the “acting” Sarpanch David S Fernandes.
According to the Aldona resident, the ward member told him he has to manage everyone in the Panchayat, including all the panchas who have to be given a share.
Apparently, two more residents from the same Panchayat jurisdiction, but from different wards came up with similar complaints of demands of bribes to enable them to carry on repairs and restoration work on their ancestral houses.
“We have to pay amounts ranging from Rs 50,000/- to Rs 2 lakh to the ward members and other Panchayat officials to ensure that we are not harassed when carrying out repairs to our ancestral houses in which we are living for decades,” lamented Maria Fernandes, another resident of Aldona.
The Goa Against Corruption (GAC) has taken up the matter of corruption in the Village Panchayats and will approach the Bombay High Court at Goa with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
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“Appeals filed before the Director of Panchayats take years to come to some conclusion,” Fernandes claimed, adding that most Panchayats turn a blind eye to genuine cases of illegal construction, but Goans trying to repair their houses before monsoon are harassed and made to pay huge bribes for ‘permission to repair’ their own ancestral homes.
According to legal experts, no panchayat permission is required to carry out basic repairs to any ancestral property, like repairing the roof, or plastering the walls, which may need waterproofing due to leakage and seepage of water during monsoons.
Panch member Pranesh D Naik or the ‘acting’ Sarpanch were unavailable for comment at the time of filing this story. We will update it as and when Pranesh Naik responds to us. (……………To Be Continued)