Expedite probe against AG: Utt Goenkara asks Chief Secretary

Panaji, Jul 24 (UNI) A 15-member delegation of the Goan NGO - Utt Goenkara - led by its spokesman advocate Aires Rodrigues today sought expeditious completion of the inquiry against the state accountant general Subodh Kantak into his alleged double and excessive billing made for appearances in the courts.

Mr Rodrigues had also demanded that the fees payable to the Advocate General of Goa be immediately brought on par with other states as earlier assured by the Government.

The delegation, which called on Chief Secretary J P Singh at Secretariat Complex, also told him that the very continuance in office by Mr Subodh Kantak as Advocate General was illegal as Mr Kantak had not officially resigned, when Mr Prartapsingh Rane demoted office as Chief Minister on June 5, 2007.

The delegation had further urged the Chief Secretary to order a probe into all the educational certificates obtained by acting Director of Fire Services Ashok Menon.

Demanding that only qualified people with high integrity be appointed to government service, the delegation told the Chief Secretary that there were attempts to hurriedly and high-handedly appoint Mr Menon as a full-fledged Director of Fire and Emergency services.

Genuineness of the BA degree obtained by Mr Menon in April 2000 from Madurai Kamraj University needs to be investigated as the records do not show that Mr Menon had applied for any leave during the said examination, which was purportedly held at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.

Advocate Rodrigues drew the Chief Secretary's attention that Mr Menon's services as Divisional Officer in the Directorate of Fire and Emergency services were terminated by an order dated December 22, 2003 as his performance was not found satisfactory.

He had also demanded that the illegal sale of fish on Sunday mornings under the Mondovi Bridge at Panaji by some Bengali fishermen be stopped and that action be taken against Goa Government's IT Secretary R P Pal for promoting and supporting this illegal activity.

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