Team Goemkarponn
MARGAO: The Margao Municipal Council (MMC) has launched a departmental inquiry into suspended employee Yogesh Shetkar, nearly a year after ₹18 lakh collected during the Holy Spirit feast fair failed to make it to the municipal treasury.
Shetkar recorded his official statement before Municipal Engineer Deepak Desai on Tuesday, marking his first formal response to the allegations. The inquiry, described by civic officials as a preliminary internal process under service rules, aims to determine the next course of disciplinary action.
Municipal sources emphasized that the ongoing inquiry is limited to administrative accountability and does not cover the recovery of the missing funds. A senior official noted that any financial recovery would require separate legal or administrative proceedings.
The Margao Police had arrested Shetkar in December 2023 in connection with the missing funds, though he was later released on bail. While the total amount unaccounted for stands at ₹18 lakh, Shetkar is reportedly directly linked to only ₹3 lakh — the amount he is believed to have collected from vendors. The rest remains unexplained, pointing to deeper systemic flaws in the council’s revenue collection process.
The missing funds have raised concerns about lapses in oversight and transparency within MMC’s operations, particularly during large public events. Despite repeated assurances from MMC Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar that steps would be taken to recover the money, no tangible progress has been made over the past year.
With public patience wearing thin and the one-year anniversary of the alleged embezzlement approaching, there is growing demand for the council to act decisively on both recovery and reform.
