PANJIM: After exposing fake beneficiaries of the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCM) welfare fund, the Goa Forward Party today revealed part-II of the ‘Labour Gate Scam’, involving LabourNet company, which is already on Lokayukta radar.
Addressing a press conference, GFP vice president Durgadas Kamat exposed how the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with LabourNet pvt firm was illegally extended in violation of the contract and in absence of approval from Labour Welfare Board and that an amount of Rs 2.54crore were paid.
He said that the company was appointed on January 19, 2019 to mobilize, enrol and train the construction workers within a period of one year. “As per the MOU, the company had to enrol and train 500 construction workers within one month from the date of signing of the MOU and 10,000 workers within six months. Failure to do so, would force the department to declare the MOU as null and void,” Kamat said.
He said that the MOU term ended on January 18, 2020.
As per the information obtained under RTI, Kamat said that the company CEO, via a letter dated January 8, 2020 sought extension in the MOU for a period of one year.
“In their letter they said that till date 14, 282 workers across 125 panchayats have been mobilized. Out of which 5,452 are trained and registered for the programme,” he said.
“Despite the company failing to adhere to MOU, a further one year extension upto January, 2021 was granted and that too without seeking approval of the Labour Welfare Board,” Kamat said adding ‘ department citied pandemic as a reason for not calling for Board meeting; wherein the actual pandemic started in March, three months after the contract was renewed’.
Kamat has demanded investigation into the case. “I will also be seeking legal advise to move forward in the matter,” he said.
