NOTICES ISSUED TO CHURCHILL AND NILKANTH HALARNKAR BY COURT

PANJIM: Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Panjim today issued notices to Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Churchill Alemao and Tourism Minister Nilkanth Halankar on alleged Colvale land scam.  The ministers are asked to appear before the court on January 4, 2011 for reply, failing which the court said, it will decide the matter in their absence.

The fresh contempt against the ministers claims that they had made a public statement on the petition terming it as a false case.  “During the programme organised in Tivim constituency (represented by Halarnkar), Churchill Alemao had commented on the present case saying that it was a false case and Halarnkar was doing a good job,” the petition by locals Kashinath Shetye, Ketan Govekar and others reads.

The court had earlier issued similar notices to Vigilance Superintendent of Police Bosco George and Police Inspector Nilesh Rane in the same matter.  Kashinath Shetye and 12 others had moved JMFC alleging that the police refused to register the complaint, which alleged scam in conversion of Goa Housing Board (GHB) land at Colvale.

In a letter to Directorate of Vigilance, couple of months back, the complainants alleged involvement of GHB chairman in the scam. Shetye alleged that the land was acquired at the instance of GHB for the purpose of housing projects of the Board but it has now been allotted to Nilkanth Halarnkar Trust.

The complainants said that this resulted a loss to the exchequer of over Rs 57-lakh. The complainants also pointed out that the chairman allotted 23,000 m2 at a throwaway price of Rs 1000 per m2 which land is worth about Rs 4,200 m2, to an institute of hotel management and the ownership is not known. They have estimated a loss of Rs 7.36 crore to the exchequer through the alleged illegalities.  The complainants earlier this month moved Bombay High Court at Goa and filed contempt petition against Vigilance officers for not registering First Information Report (FIR) to his complaint.