Aldeia de Goa:Files go missing

PANJIM: Calling the disappearance of the documents and files containing details of a construction project at Bambolim, too serious a matter "not to be taken note of" by the High Court, the Court has now asked the Curca- Bambolim village panchayat to file a complaint with the Agacaim police about the missing files.

Acting on the Court's oral instructions on Thursday, the Town and Country department had already lodged a complaint about the missing files and documents in the Panjim police station and issued show cause notice to the Khalasi (read sweeper) of Tiswadi taluka branch office.

The Division bench of Justice FI Rebello and Justice NA Britto has asked the Police Inspector of Panjim and Agacaim to head the investigations into both the complaints. The PIs will have to submit their first report to the Court within 15 days.

With the panchayat stating that they have not received the files that were forwarded by them to the concerned government department and the TCP submitting that the file is lost/ missing, the Court has now asked the Technical Officer of PWD based in Panjim to deposit with the Registrar of the Court, the development/ construction plans of Goa Real Estate and Construction Ltd (GRECL, popularly known as Aldeia de Goa), by today.

The TCP submitted that the files were given to M/s SPRY Resources India Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad for scanning for record purposes and TCP department has written a letter to M/s SPRY Resources India Pvt Ltd, asking whether they have scanned the files. Responding to this, the Court instructed the Advocate General Subodh Kantak to inform the Court on the next date if the documents were scanned and computerized and to produce the same in the Court.

Further, taking note of the Curca-Bambolim panchayat and TCP department's statement that the files are missing, the Court observed that the two authorities are defeating the provision and objective of Right to Information Act, which is in its initial stage. The objective of RTI Act is to make public life more open and the administration more accountable to citizens by making available information whenever it is sought, the Court observed.

The Court has given time till November 29, 2007 to the state government to file their reply and the matter will be placed on board on November 30.

What does a government department do when a file goes missing and the Chief Secretary is summoned to the Court? The obvious reply is initiate action against the erring officers.

But when it is the TCP department, which is involved in the mystery of the missing files on the GRECL project, then expect the unexpected. Instead of taking the officers involved to task, the TCP Chief Town Planner Morad Ahmad by an office memorandum of November 22, has issued a show cause notice to the Khalasi (sweeper) of the TCP Tiswadi taluka office at Panjim. Show cause notice has been served to Mahadev Morajkar, seeking explanation and reasons for not performing his duties effectively and regarding the loss of the file.



Not impressed with this, the Court stated that though they don't want to comment on the show cause notice served to the Khalasi, they observed that the Khalasi can't act without the connivance of a senior officer and it is for the department to take proper action.