Three ‘cities’ of Goa are vying for the Central government’s smart city status that will give them funds and fast forward their development. Along with the capital city of Panjim the other ‘cities’ in the race from Goa are Margao and Vasco. Each of the shortlisted cities has to create its own vision, mission and then move the proposal to the Central government which will decide whether the city deserves the funding for a smart city. Though the proposal is still at the very nascent stage, the smartest idea to have come till date has been from the deputy commissioner of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) who suggests that the jurisdiction of Panjim be extended. That’s smart, no doubt, but can this be implemented?
The only manner in which the city’s jurisdiction can be extended is by including more areas within the corporation limits. The CCP deputy commissioner suggests that Porvorim, Merces, Taleigao and the Goa University areas be brought into the CCP jurisdiction. He makes perfect sense. But he is a bureaucrat and the decision to accept this recommendation and act on it rests with the politicians, who will be guided by political compulsions when taking the decision and not by what is good or best for the city. Leave aside accepting the suggestion, the politicians in power are unlikely to even acknowledge that such a suggestion has been made. Going by past experience, it will not be easy for any government to extend the boundaries of the Panjim, without there being protests from the residents of the areas that are sought to be included within the city limits.
In 2002, when Panjim was raised from a municipal council to a municipal corporation the neighbouring villages of Taleigao, almost an extension of Panjim and very urban in character, and Penha de Franca, which lie to the north of the River Mandovi where the State Secretariat and Legislative Assembly are situated, were sought to be included within the city limits. These two villages were proposed to be included in the CCP not only to bestow upon the new municipal corporation a larger area but also make it more financially viable as a corporation. As usually happens in Goa, there were protests, strident ones, and the government quickly kowtowed to the people’s demands and withdrew the proposal. The result, Panjim’s geographical boundaries are restricted to what we have today, and though that has not helped the city’s development in any manner, it allows CCP to claim that it is the smallest municipal corporation in the world.
The smallness of the area has actually led to the ills that plague the State capital. A city needs demarcated residential, institutional, commercial and entertainment areas. This Panjim does not have. Except for the Patto Plaza area that is commercial and a part of it institutional, the rest of Panjim has no specialized areas. One does find shops, offices, banks, residences and even hospitals in the same building. The pressure on land in Panjim, of traffic on the streets and the power and water needs is increasing almost on a daily basis. The team that will be preparing the proposal for a smart city needs to seriously consider extending the boundaries of Panjim so that there can be a semblance of planning in the capital city. The areas of Taleigao and Penha de Franca would add value to Panjim, besides also fulfilling the criteria of a population of over 5,000, with more than 75 percent engaged in non-agricultural activities and a density of 400 persons per sqkm that makes for an urban area in India.
A Panjim that would include its neighbouring villages would also nullify the empty boast of the CCP on its website of Panjim being the world’s smallest municipal corporation. There is no reason to take pride in being the smallest. The CCP could so well have boasted of being the cleanest, or the safest, or the best managed municipal corporation, but its mismanagement won’t allow any of this. It is therefore time that Panjim extend its boundaries and in doing so not only decongests the city, but also clean it up and then perhaps the corporation could boast of being the ‘smartest’ city in the world.
