Panaji, Feb 29 (IANS): Fined heavily by courts for not filing affidavits and delays in submitting responses to ongoing litigations, the Goa government on Friday directed HoDs of government departments to act promptly to legal notices, failing which action would be taken against heads of departments (HoDs) for causing delay.
The direction from Goa government's Law Secretary Chokha Ram Garg came nearly two weeks after the Goa government was fined Rs 10 lakh by the Supreme Court for delay in filing an affidavit on steps being by the state to formulate a scheme for community kitchens.
"It has been brought to the notice of the first law officer that in one of the matters before the SC, the orders were passed by the SC and heavy costs had been imposed by the court for not filing counter affidavit/response in the matter on behalf of the state of Goa," Garg said in a circular, warning of action against HoDs in case delays are repeated.
"Further, it is brought to the notice of the government by the standing counsels before the Supreme Court that when the counsels try to contact the departments even on an urgent basis, officials of departments are not responding to standing counsel, resulting in delays in submitting 'vakalatnama', filing counter affidavit etc. before the SC," the circular said.
In the last several months alone, the Goa government has been fined on various occasions by the National Green Tribunal for its failure to meet deadlines or file responses to notices issued by the authority.
In July last year, the NGT had asked the state government to shell out Rs 20 lakh as performance guarantee after it failed to install CCTV cameras to rein in illegal sand mining.
In August last year, the NGT imposed a penalty of Rs 10,000 per day for delay in filing a report on earmarking green, privately owned areas as forests.
In October last year, the NGT imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the state government on account of the latter's "insensitivity" towards filling up of exhausted laterite stone quarries after four boys drowned in one during a picnic.