Four sarpanchs turned ‘labourers’ for cash: Goa CM Pramod Sawant

PANAJI: Hours after labour minister Jennifer Monserrate denied allegations that funds from the Goa Building and Other Construction Workers (GBOCW) Welfare Board Assistance Scheme — Covid-19 had been misused, chief minister Pramod Sawant admitted that there were some lapses.
He said that he had “cross-checked” the release of funds and had found at least four sarpanchs had registered as labourers and had received Rs 6,000 each from the GBOCW fund.
“If some sarpanch registers as a labourer, what can I do? It is not just one sarpanch, there are two or three more in the list,” Sawant said.
“They filled the forms thinking they would get some money and they filled the forms when they were the sarpanchs,” he said.
The alleged list of beneficiaries of the GBOCW Welfare Board Assistance Scheme — Covid-19, shows 2,070 beneficiaries in Bardez, 1,890 in Pernem, 1,522 in Bicholim, 1,330 in Sattari, 700 in Tiswadi and 3,440 from outside Goa.
Strangely, there are many women who are listed as masons, painter assistants and construction workers. The list also includes at least four serving panch members and eight former sarpanchs. In some places, the entire family has been listed as construction workers, former Panaji MLA Sidharth Kuncalienker, said. He has called for an immediate investigation into the “mischief” played by the labour department and the fraudulent beneficiaries.
“Prima facie if you see the list, it looks like a scam. Immediate investigation should be ordered. Why should someone be afraid?” said Kuncalienker.
On Tuesday, GFP had said that a Rs 13.15 crore package meant for construction workers had turned out to be a “multi-crore scam”, with residents of Sakhali and Bicholim being the biggest beneficiaries. The party’s vice-president, Durgadas Kamat, on Friday said, “All of the panchas and sarpanchas on the list are BJP members. The money has been diverted to the karyakartas.”
Former Pale-Kothambi sarpanch Mohini Tari is among the 11,000 people who was paid Rs 6,000 this April. The list shows that nearly 940 people received Rs 6,000 each, while another 1,500 received Rs 10,000, whereas 600 people received Rs 20,000 each.
Also, there are 300 people who received Rs 30,000, while another 306 got Rs 40,000. Over Rs 9 lakh was given to five people each.
“We are in the midst of a pandemic and every rupee counts. The state cannot squander away money. It is for the government to investigate who has done this mischief,” Kuncalienker said.
A day earlier, Monserrate had said that monetary relief meant for registered construction workers had benefited genuine workers and only in a few cases, due to “confusion”, the funds may have been deposited in accounts of those who are not labourers.
“What happens is that when we registered these people on the board, we take a self-declaration. Their names are registered and may be on this ground there was some confusion because we go by the self-declaration given by the people,” Monserrate had said.