Rescinding orders and changing statements has become quite common with this government and when the U-turn does come, it hardly leads to any surprise. The latest examples of these are of the government withdrawing the order of the Directorate of Education that had asked government-aided schools – all of them up to the higher secondary level – to pay teachers’ salaries from their own funds for this month as the department’s section staff was not at full strength due to some positive cases of COVID-19. Even before school managements could raise questions and protest, the government quickly withdrew this order with the explanation that the Chief Minister who also holds the Education portfolio had not been consulted on this decision. The other example of reversal of government statement is of the chief minister first stating that there is community transmission of COVID-19 in the State and later going back on this to say that community transmission of COVID has not started. Prior to this there have been numerous instances of such changes in orders, policies that had even led to Bharatiya Janata Party members raising these issues in social media.
A day earlier the Governor had publicly voiced his displeasure in the performance of the government in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic in the State. We are currently in the midst of another lockdown, this one of three days ending today, July 19. The lockdown was nothing less than a kneejerk reaction of the government that faced with this high increase of COVID-19 cases decided to show that it was doing something to control the spread. Even this was badly managed. The Chief Minister announced this on July 15, but the order specifying what was allowed and what was not came late evening on July 16, giving little chance for the business community to plan for the three days. As a result establishemnts that catered to essential commodities and services remained shut on day 1 of the lockdown and opened the next day, causing inconvenience to the people. There is speculation that this lockdown may be extended by another few weeks, as shutting down the State for three days will not bring any major change in the transmission pattern of the virus,that is now increasing with the daily rise in the region of 190 cases or more. If the government is considering extending the lockdown will it wait till this Sunday evening to announce it? If it does, then here’s another example of bad planning on the part of the government.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
If Goa needs the government to take some U-turns then there are a number of projects that the adminstration can give a thought to. Currently there is opposition to projects across the State that involve disrupting the lives of the people. There is the forest tree cutting to make way for three Central projects – highway exapansion, railway double lining and a power project. Where the railway line doubling is concerned there is also the houses of the people that are going to be affected by it. Then there is the IIT project at Melauli which the villagers are opposing as it affects their livelihoods. To add to these is the marina project at Nauxim that has been opposed by the people of the area and also those across the River Zuari. These are some decisions on which the government could undertake U-turns and which the people would possibly welcome. Goa needs a government that performs, that opens itself to the issues that are plauging the people and resolves them to the satisfaction of all concerned. And, more importantly the government has to show that it is performing, because when the time comes for voting it will be judged on that.
