NT NETWORK

Margao

Outgoing councillors, who had undertaken study tours or official visits on different occasions during the last five years, are now learnt to have been rushing to close their pending expenditure account at the Margao municipal office in order to obtain the ‘no due certificate’ for re-contesting the municipal election.

Sources in the Margao Municipal Council informed that the outgoing councillors’ group undertook at least 11 study tours or official visits to Ajmer, Daman and Diu, Mount Abu, Bangalore and a few other places, spending a total of Rs 15 lakh, for capacity building and also to study how other big municipalities were managing waste disposal system.

However, these councillors had not submitted the details of expenses.

Sources informed that when information was collected in that regard, through RTI application, by the former chairperson and convener of Shadow Council of Margao Savio Coutinho, many of the councillors, who are intending to re-contest the election, have started to close their account of expenses.

Sources said the councillors were given the money to undertake the study tours, but the details of the expenses were not submitted to the council.

“The councillors, who are intending to re-contest the election, are now trying to clear the details, while those who are not contesting have failed to do so till date. This was revealed through RTI information,” Coutinho informed.