Governance has been the worst casualty since the arrival of the BJP in power in 2012. The public was hoodwinked into believing that Manohar Parrikar would bring efficiency, clean up corruption, and instill purpose into government functioning. People were also deceived into hoping that things would move with alacrity because, as the media pundits told us, Parrikar was a man in hurry and a quick decision maker. On a scale of 1-10, I rate the BJP as having scored 2 (and with one grace mark, they may just reach 3).
On the question of stewardship, the BJP has managed a big zero. According to the Wikepedia, “Stewardship is an ethic that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources. The concepts of stewardship can be applied to the environment and nature”. The BJP is observably is oblivious to this notion.
If the BJP were in school, they would have been detained. But that is dangerous, because they would still be in power and people now think it is time to say goodbye and good riddance.
In their internal assessment, I suspect they would have been generous on themselves. But even there, they would get no more than 3 and that too from quick decisions to spend money in huge quantums on fun and frolic disguised as development-oriented tours. There were those who went on jaunts supposedly to learn about garbage management. A strange jaunt because we have the solutions and experts right here in Goa. A beach cleaning contract amounting to several crores is being called a ‘scam’. Should it be investigated, one suspects jail sentences will be the reward for those involved. Months back, senior tourism officials took a photo-op walk on the beach and certified the beach clean. I took a walk the following morning on the same trail to find their claims were lies and misleading. We brought this to the notice of the then Tourism Director who said: ‘Patience, things are taking shape’! The only thing that shaped up was his transfer- a big relief because the man was all rhetoric and no substance. The same Director of Tourism watched (either helplessly or in collusion) as his department purportedly spent crores on travel marts and road shows across the world – a whopping Rs 23 crore to market a destination that least needed marketing. They went distance places- all exotic- like Budapest, Prague, Lisbon, and Seoul. They are back empty handed. Even in the travel marts they attended, many international visitors complained that responsible officials were never (or hardly) present in the Goan stall. And those who went to the World Cup in Brazil have not publicly reported whether they have returned the funds they took and promised to pay back. Brazil is long done and dusted and we don’t as much as have a bullet-point report with a couple of recommendations. No Sirs, we the people do not have money to let you have fun while we have sordid infrastructure, squalid garbage dumps, and zero improvement. Imagine, even the Health Minister, Water Department officials also went on tourism junket. The BJP government defended the expenditure claiming it is to promote tourism. It is a media report. Has the government now moved into fiction?
The government does not bother to explain why they went, what they did, and what benefits they brought back. State Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said, “Goa is a tourist place and there is a need to attract more tourists. We need to go across the world and participate in road shows and exhibitions. If we need a world class infrastructure in Goa, then we should go for various road shows.” Really, Mr. Parulekar? Sit down with the people in the villages where tourism is happening Parulekar and they will tell you some simple facts and offer you home grown solutions. The expenditure on tours you and your friends take will be enough to clean up garbage, repair roads, light up tourism spaces, beautify our coasts, employ well-paid coastal cleaners, life guards, and green our coasts. The people know. Learn from them.
Several weeks ago, Parulekar announced that all hotel rooms in Goa were booked. I did not know if he was reading a joke book at that point in time, or just trying to be smart and hoodwink us. We surveyed hotels that evening and the next day and realized it was either a day dream or just a pitiable shaggy dog story.
Tourist numbers are down and they are down because Goan tourism is on the down slide. Goa remains evergreen, ever beautiful. Its people are just the kind of people who tourists want to encounter on a holiday. But Goa’s tourism policy has messed up a beautiful destination by faulty planning, wasteful investments, and lack of vision.
In the last year, the centre for Responsible Tourism has been researching tourism products that can make Goa a niche destination. This was not done by some experts sitting in an air-conditioned office. We went down to the ground and encountered rural folk – the title-holders, as it were, of Goan traditions and culture. Our intent was to advance rural-heritage culture.
Depth and variety define the Goan landscape and outlook. Before Mr. Parulekar takes his next expensive jaunt replete with First class/business class flights and star hotels, sumptuous free food (at our cost), he is best advised to take a small Mahindra Jeep to Goan villages, bow to the people, and learn what they know. He will discover what to offer and how. Marketing principles are simple; they don’t require wasteful spending.
More advice for Mr. Parulekar: “Before another budget allocation of wasteful proportions, that take back the humongous advance you handed to the Spanish consultant (whose own country has a huge tourism crises), invest in our own people. Each village and its people can hand you fabulous and matchless itineraries within Goa. Using common sense, as opposed to wasteful and extravagant travels which have no purpose except self-gratification and pleasure for the teams that go, is the way to go”.
To conclude: Tourism is an ideal which seeks to create encounters between the visitor and visited so that each are enriched economically, socially, culturally, and spiritually. Goan tourist planners lack this mindset in their planning. A total overhaul is the only solution. A new regime is what is needed.
(The author is an Independent researcher and writer.)
