In April-May last year, during the campaign for the by-election for Panjim constituency, the then Congress candidate Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate had promised that he would see that that casino vessels that operate in the River Mandovi and that have their offices in Panjim would be shifted from the river within 100 days of him being elected. He won, and as people kept count, this didn’t happen but Monserrate, within 100 days of becoming the MLA of Panjim, broke away from the Congress and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party which is in power. It might have made it easier for him to fulfill his promise, but even a year later he has still been unable to move the casino vessels from the River Mandovi.
Not only does Monserrate represent Panjim in the Legislative Assembly, the ruling panel of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) is also aligned to him, and since his joining the BJP a much larger number of councillors are with him. The CCP has been threatening not to renew the trade licences of the casinos, and this time has actually taken steps towards this. Applications for renewals of trade licences of three casinos have been currently kept on hold, with Mayor Uday Madkaikar claiming that CCP will stand by its promise that the trade licences should not be renewed. He even added, ‘My leader and Panjim MLA Atanasio Monserrate also shares the same stand’.
While CCP may try to gain some mileage from keeping on hold the renewal of the casino trade licences, especially as it claims this amounts to a loss of Rs 25 lakh that it would have earned had the renewal been effected, it is pertinent to note that the trade licences have only been kept on hold. They have not been revoked or cancelled, so there always stands the possible that in the weeks ahead the licences can be renewed. Currently with the restrictions imposed due to the COVID pandemic, casinos have not been operating since the middle of March, so keeping the renewal of trade licences on hold does not affect the casino operators in any major manner.
The big question is whether when the restrictions on operations of casinos are lifted – whenever this may be – CCP still maintains its position of not renewing the trade licences to abide by its stand that the casinos should be moved out of River Mandovi, or falls in place quietly. It could lead to a showdown between the State government and the city corporation, and if there are directives from the former, will the latter ignore them? Let this keeping of renewal of trade licences of casinos not be a matter of political posturing from the CCP, that has threatened so in the past too. It’s intentions will be clear if the trade licences are not renewed.
Though casino operations have not been kept on hold for the last four months, starting with the lockdown, the government during this period has extended their stay in the River Mandovi by another six months. This is a cabinet decision that is being regularly taken twice a year to permit the casinos to continue operations until an alternative place is found for them. Until now, no such site has been identified by the government and the process of identification could well take a long time. In the meantime, the government has in the past made it clear that it can’t shut down the casino industry in the State. It therefore appears that CCP may merely be using the current restrictions on casino operations to flex some muscle, but this won’t impress or fool anyone. It needs strict and concerted action, if the casinos are ever to be shifted from River Mandovi.
