CHANDOR: The Swayampurna Mitra appointed for the village panchayat of Chandor-Cavorim has not been a friend in need for three months.
The “friend” in that post has also been changed three times in three months and the fourth is likely to be transferred according to panchayat insiders.
A Swayampurna Mitra is supposed to act as a liaison officer for the panchayat to enable it to avail the various schemes of the government through interactions and meetings with officials of the different departments and hence is supposed to visit the panchayat every Saturday to know its requirements.
However at Chandor-Cavorim, since July 22, the Swayampurna Mitra has visited only once, on October 2, to oversee the digital interaction with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant that day.
Executive Engineer, PWD (Water Supply) Vishambar Bhende was appointed to this position and he would visit the panchayat regularly to listen to grievances.
However, after working for about five months in this position, on July 28, 2023, the Zonal Agriculture Officer, Salcete, Shariff Furtado was appointed as the new Swayampurna, Mitra.
Shariff visited the panchayat only on October 2 to facilitate the live interaction with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, which was held when the panchayats were scheduled to discuss the proposed Agriculture Policy.
Given the fact that he is overburdened handling Salcete as well as Mormugao taluka, Shariff asked to be relieved from the posting as Swayampurna Mitra. Heeding his request, Director Planning, Statistics and Evaluation, Vijay Saxena replaced him with Dr Hrishikesh Pawar, Scientist (Fisheries) on October 17
However, Dr Pawar very honestly admitted that he has no idea what this assignment entails and pointed out that he is basically a research scientist who has no administrative experience or knowledge.
Getting in touch with the Planning department to air these grievances and post Swyampurna Mitra’s for a sustained period, is easier said than done.
“Nobody answers the two landline numbers - 2417439 and 2417437 - listed on the Department letterhead,” lamented Chandor-Cavorim Village Development Committee Convener, J D’Silva.
“While the government claims to be going digital, it is ironic that an e-mail sent to the address mentioned in the letterhead has not been replied to for the past five days,” said the Convener.
He pointed out that the panchayat wants to seriously take forward the task of developing the village as a Heritage Village and recently even organised a seminar on this, but in the absence of a functional Swayampurna Mitra, the panchayat is handicapped.
The irony here is that the Director of Planning and Statistics is available on his mobile, which is not listed on any official channel or the letterhead of the department
When contacted, Saxena said, “I am always available on his mobile number.”
However, this number is not listed on the letterhead. He also said the mail sent by the VDC convener will be forwarded to the Archives Department to see if they can assist the village. He however had no answer when asked why the landlines listed on the department letterhead are not attended to.