Mickky files fraud complaint against Churchill
GOANEWS & PTI, PANAJI | 19 April 2011 16:16 IST
Nationalist Congress Party legislator Mickky Pacheco has filed a case with the Crime Branch against Goa Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Churchill Alemao, the Congress minister, accusing him of violating the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) manual.
In the complaint, the former Minister said Alemao had violated Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) norms and also guidelines of CPWD to manipulate various tenders.
Later, addressing the media, Pacheco claimed that Alemao has caused loss worth crores of rupees to the state exchequer by manipulating the tender guidelines since the last four years.
Alemao was sworn in as a Congress Minister in 2007.Congress and NCP are ruling coalition partners in the state.
The NCP leader accused Alemao of rigging PWD bids by introducing an illegal circular in 2007 that gives all the financial powers to the PWD minister.
The complaint mentioned that Alemao introduced the controversial circular against the advice of the Vigilance Secretary and the Chief Secretary.
The former Tourism Minister filed the complaint under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Indian Penal Code alleging that the Minister has amassed illegal wealth.
Alemao however has refuted the allegation while calling Pacheco 'empty mind Devil's workshop'.
According to the PWD minister, a circular to this effect was issued in 2001 by one of his predecessor and several governments and PWD ministers have been following it.
Whenever few changes were made to it, approval of finance department has also been sought, thus no issue of violating any norms.
According to Alemao, the system has helped to maintain quality of road construction.
"It is not a fraud", he claimed.
Game between Cat and Rat has started , people of Goa should enjoy this