6 May,2010

Truth … sometimes
Thank goodness for politicians’ egos and their repeated attempts to settle scores with one another. Without these, where would we have been? Even as we see Goa fast losing out on its uniqueness of the past, we can only depend on politicians to expose the errors, questionable decisions and misdeeds of each other.
Unfortunately, it happens in Goa only too rarely. In a State which has seen so much political instability — specially in the decade of the 1990s — one would have expected to happen more often. But it doesn’t.
This week, Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar scored in the power-rebate case. Not only did his campaigns help to save an estimated hundred crore rupees for the treasury, but he also exposed the seamy side of decision-making.
In the past fortnight, it was the turn of Mr Parrikar himself to face the heat, over the IFFI charges. In turn, diverse other politicians have been tripping up each other, mostly when their opponents have been out of power. Sometimes, as in the power-rebate case, it was not the ruling party which did the exposure; the campaign did get a bit of help from the judiciary, whose role also deserves to be appreciated.
Theoretically, there are a lot of checks and balances supposed to be in place in the Westminster system of administration, which we largely follow in South Asia. In practice, things don’t quite work in the textbook manner.
 The Opposition doesn’t play its role as it should. Assembly doesn’t meet as often as it could, and its sessions are restricted to just a few days in each year. Even the media and citizens don’t always play their watchdog’s role as efficiently as is possible. Right to information applications and writ petitions before the courts do have their role to play, but it is not everyday that you can go in for one.
 Politicians exposing each other does help to make the point that governance is not always a process of ensuring the maximum benefit for the maximum number of people. On the contrary, it can be a game which benefits the organised few over the disunited many.
 One problem with politicians setting the agenda on corruption, of course, is that it can get taken up in a skewed manner. For instance, narcotics along the North Goa coast is not the primary issue, but the possible involvement of the kin of a politician is! Likewise, the dubious role of politicians on “our” side of the fence is not an issue, and concerns only get selectively raised.
If there is a sex-crime involving minister’s son, then it becomes big news. Same is the case if a death of a foreign teenager possibly involving the kin of some other politician, or rape allegations involving a politicians who nearly won the last elections (and could still be a thorn in the side of the winner).
This is clearly not enough. What matters is issues and concerns — not individuals. Certainly not score-settling! While one can hope that our political class will expose some more misdeeds while battling each other, the agenda of getting a cleaner administration, and one that works, is a larger task which calls for serious concern and commitment from the citizen.
Unfinished tasks
Hill-cutting and filling low-lying fields with mud are in the news, thanks to campaigns by groups like the Goa Bachao Abhiyan in persistently campaigning over such issues. These concerns are indeed important, because seeing the law-breaker get away without any action makes the citizen apathetic, while those violating the law become only more brazen.
 But these are not the only issue over which action has been long awaited from the Government of Goa. Uncontrolled hoardings causing visual pollution and distracting drivers all over the place, building on hill-slopes, selling water by the tanker with no controls, dumping garbage and wastes in fields and forest, digging bore-wells that suck up aquifers … the list is long.
On these too, the government’s intentions are waiting to be rated. The people have a right to expect more!