At a specially convened panchayat meeting, seven members were present, while four members, including former Sarpanch Anusha Lamani and former Deputy Sarpanch Derrick Vales, remained absent.
Soon after the election, the new panel thanked Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and BJP Goa president Damodar Naik for their support. However, they also launched a sharp attack on Panchayats Minister Mauvin Godinho, alleging interference in the functioning of the village panchayat for several years.
Newly elected Sarpanch Paulina Azavedo thanked the members for electing her unanimously and assured that the panel would work together for the welfare of the village.
Deputy Sarpanch Tulshidas Naik alleged that the new body had faced several struggles before the elections were finally conducted.
He further alleged that the panchayat had been functioning under the influence of Minister Mauvin Godinho for the last nine years.
“We had to face several obstacles before this election was finally held. Orders were allegedly forced upon us, claiming they came from the minister, but we never believed it. However, the developments over the last 45 days convinced us where the pressure was coming from,” alleged Naik.
Naik said the new body was “a panchayat of Sancoalekars and not a puppet of ministers anymore.”
He also alleged that despite a no-confidence motion being passed, the elections were delayed and an administrator was appointed instead of conducting the polls immediately.
Naik also claimed that RTI activist Narayan Naik approaching the High Court played a key role in ensuring that the elections were eventually held. “We believe the elections would have been delayed for several more months had the High Court matter not come up. The election notice was issued just a day before the hearing,” he said.
He further alleged that the long-pending Panchayat Ghar project had failed to take shape despite foundation stone ceremonies being held multiple times.
“Minister Mauvin Godinho launched the Panchayat Ghar project three times, but the building never came up. Builder Anand Bose had donated the prime land nearly seven years ago and the panchayat also has funds, yet we are still functioning from rented premises and paying huge rent every month,” said Naik.
The new panel maintained that although the Sancoale Panchayat falls under the Cortalim constituency, there had been unnecessary outside interference from Mauvin Godinho for several years.
“We are with the government and had also maintained that we were with Mauvin Godinho, but the obstacles we faced clearly show that he did not want this panel to take charge,” Naik alleged.
