Firstly, this is the Chief Minister speaking. He knows Panjim, where the almost 1,000 crore “smart” city White Elephant is situated, is bombed and devastated. The priority was to see this never happened. Is ‘history’ more important than the present-day reality of Panjim?
The state of Panjim is not a joke. It’s for real. Can an army general who sees his area blown apart step back and say he will conduct an inquiry? Panjim’s situation is no different. Except that here the enemy is that of inefficiency and incompetence and it lies within the system.
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The absolute mess in Panjim is a result of criminal negligence and the greed of many of those who have been beneficiaries of the Rs 952.9 crore Smart city project of which Rs 335 crore have already been spent. After such a huge spending of public money which has literally gone down many drains, the comment that “the Revenue Minister is inquiring into it” appears casual and without any seriousness.
This is people’s money for a project to supposedly transform one of the most beautiful small towns in the world. In reality, living, working and commuting in Panjim has become a nightmare for residents and those who come to Panjim for work or leisure, after the smart city project was launched. There cannot be any justification in saying that an inquiry is being conducted, because people face the harsh realities of the situation daily.
This begs the question- what is the so-called inquiry all, about? If it’s about irregularities in the projects, the answer is quite obvious. The BJP’s own minister for Revenue Babush Monserrate is supposedly conducting an inquiry. There has been no notification issued about this inquiry and who is the inquiry officer. Monserrate in turn, has asked for House Committee to be set up to look into this and lambasted the system of which he himself is a part of as Minster and Panjim MLA by saying, “I’m most aggrieved, nothing smart has come out of smart city. I don’t know why consultants were appointed?”
While Monserrate’s concerns which he has flagged are important, can he maintain such a distance from the controversy? He is a non ex-officio member of the Smart City Special Purpose Vehicle (IPSCDL) board. Were concerns over the appointment of consultants, substandard work and too many departments involved the project, raised, discussed and sorted by him?
People of Panjim and Goa may well ask how many employment opportunities have been created for locals. Have Goans benefited, except those in power?
Panjim is bombed & devastated and flooded. What is the use of assurances yet again that Mala will not be flooded again?
There was sewage flowing into homes, roads caved in, cars and trucks fell into deep holes and different departments spoke in different voices on whether pending works will be halted and resumed after monsoons or not. In this cacophony of confusion, people saw their town crumbling under their feet. Can people believe any further assurance that Mala will not be flooded again when many families live in the constant fear of their homes getting submerged, in the low-lying areas? Assurances won’t give confidence to the people. Each year Mala and other low-lying areas get flooded. The promise of Mala being flood free was made and broken yet again. Before making a fresh annual promise, shouldn’t there be an apology for the previous years of failed promises?
As people suffer minsters speak in cross purposes
When the roof of a section of Kala Academy collapsed, whose renovation was given to a firm without any tender, the Art and culture minister pointed fingers at the PWD minister who declared that a white paper would be issued. Now Goans do wonder what this white paper is all about. When was the last time a promised white paper was actually released, and if released shared and shown to the public? In this case who is preparing the white paper and/or heading the white paper team? Is there a notification or even an internal communique? There are words like “inquiry”, while paper etc. are used loosely only as a stalling and diverting tactic for the heat to cool down.
Accountability has been the biggest victim
What is compromised is accountability. When assurances from the highest office in the land appear so distant from the stark realities of the depth to which Panjim has sunk both literally and figuratively, there is a very serious crisis of confidence that is unfolding.
