09-05-2013 … The inquiry report of the panjim market committee which had to be submitted to the corporation by 30th of April last months has been delayed till 30th of may by the south goa collector n d agarwal informed ccp mayor surendra furtado who is deciding to hand over the case to state lokayukta if the case if found to be a complicated one
It may be noted that the south goa collector n d agarwal was appointed to inquire into the alleged irregularities pertaining to the allotment of shops and vacant spaces in the new city municipal market complex.
The allotment of shops in Panaji in 2005 has been marred in controversy with the alleged irregularities in the allotment. The CCP’s original list contained names of the traders who occupied kiosks in the old market who were promised shops in the new market.
When the actual allotment happened many of the original occupants were not allotted any space in the new market. It was alleged that some previous councilors of the Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate panel had a hand in the illegal allotment of the shops. Some of them bought shops under benami names.
Although the transfer of the shops were not permitted, some of the original lessees transferred their shops to third parties. The transferring of shops is permitted only in the case of hereditary blood relatives.
At least, 146 shops have been transferred in violation of the CCP rules. Enquires conducted in the past have confirmed gross irregularities in the allotment of shops. The CCP has suffered massive revenue losses amounting to over 1crore on water and electricity bill as a result of this scam. A market survey conducted by the CCP some time ago revealed that over 300 market tenants are involved in irregular occupation. The issue of market has been raked-up on the floor of the state legislative assembly on numerous counts.
The newly appointed mayor surendra Furtado in its last ccp meeting has said that he was expecting the inquiry report from the government-appointed officer N D Agrawal by April 30 and that he would ensure that justice was done and that the CCP gets the actual revenue from the market.
 Meanwhile ccp commissioner surendra furtado said that the investigation officers were on their job as there was a lot of work that had to be done to prepare the final report
