PANAJI: The Director of Panchayats, acting on instructions of the CM Dr Pramod Sawant-led Goa government terminated the panchayat secretary’s services and disqualified the village panchayat sarpanch for allegedly allowing the Arpora Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, where 25 were killed in a fire on December 6, to operate illegally.
The duo panchayat secretary Raghuvir Bagkar and sarpanch Roshan Redkar, have absconding, with the Mapusa Sessions court rejecting their anticipatory bail pleas.
GFBT.live has learnt that the duo have moved the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court for pre-arrest bail, appealing against the order of the Mapusa sessions court.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, safety lapses, including an inadequate number of exits, a thatched roof of dried coconut leaves, and stacks of inflamable alcohol, intensified the fire that ripped through the nightclub in the coastal village of Arpora.
On December 16, Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, the owners of the club, were arrested at Delhi airport after being deported from Thailand, where they fled after the fire.
Mahadev Araundekar, the director of panchayats (DOP), issued separate orders late on Wednesday evening, sacking Bagkar and disqualifying Redkar after chief minister Pramod Sawant chaired a meeting to consider the magisterial inquiry report into the fire.
The first order accused Bagkar of malafide intention and alleged corruption, gross irregularities and dereliction of duties in allowing the Birch by Romeo Lane to operate.
The sarpanch Redkar has been banned from contesting village panchayat elections for the next 5 years. He has been removed from his post as sarpanch as well as disqualified as the panch member.
The inquiry report named illegalities in the operation of the nightclub and said that even a layman could have noticed them. It added that its structures were constructed in an ecologically sensitive salt pan area, where no licence could have been issued.
The report pointed to the allocation of house numbers to illegal commercial structures despite the absence of a construction licence and occupancy certificate. In this particular case, even the ownership of the plot of land was under dispute with a civil case ongoing in the courts. The so-called owner, Surinder Kumar Khosla had forged documents to show that he was the owner of the property which was actually owned by a Goan Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar.
The DOP referred to the failure of the Arpora panchayat to defend its demolition order before the director of panchayats which enabled the club to get a stay. The probe report found that the panchayat failed to carry out the demolition despite multiple opportunities for it in two window periods, including one of over 50 days, between when the demolition order was passed and then eventually stayed by the DOP as it was aggressively pursued by the defendant club.
The order said there was a serious dereliction of duties, gross negligence, and deliberate ignorance of violation of the statutory and regulatory provisions in Bagkar’s discharge of duties as the panchayat secretary, which led to the fire and 25 fatalities. The order said fatalities could have been avoided had he discharged his duties responsibly.
The magestrial report has cited various situations where procedures to be followed
The order noted that Bagkar is reported to have absconded and evaded arrest. “As such, he is also not available for a departmental inquiry proposed to be conducted into his grave misconduct, which ultimately resulted in the unfortunate incident….”
The DOP order cited the quantum and the gravity of the series of acts of commission and omission. “…initiating disciplinary proceedings and conducting an inquiry is not reasonably practicable,” said the order. “The conduct of the employee is so blameworthy and prejudicial to public interest that his continued retention in service is no longer desirable.”
Redkar was disqualified under the Goa Panchayat Raj Act’s Section 50(5), which provides for the removal of a sarpanch or deputy sarpanch for failing to discharge their duties or for misconduct, and revocation of membership, making them ineligible to be re-elected for five years. He has also been disqualified as a panch of his ward.
The order for Redkar’s disqualification said he presided over meetings where the irregularities of the nightclub were either ignored or tacitly approved by manipulating the processs. It cited the magestrial probe report and said it found that the establishment, which initially operated from a temporary shed, was converted into a high-end nightclub without approved building plans. The construction of a high-end nightclub would have required additional permissions from other departments, which were not taken.
“The conduct on the part of the sarpanch can be classified as ‘persistent remiss of duties’. The failure of the sarpanch is not merely administrative; it is a breach of the public trust that resulted in a catastrophe,” the order disqualifying him said.
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