Ameya Abhayankar, probably saw this coming. In a system of yes men and mute participants in unethical practices that have become the new template of government functioning, the tourism director, a handpicked officer, who has visions of cleaning the system realised that he couldn’t even get beaches cleaned the way he wanted to.
While individuals do not make the system, the system of politicised government functioning consumes individuals. Some officers “manage” to remain in the system by “adjusting”. Those who don’t are transferred repeatedly, so that the political dispensation is never “disturbed” by officers who object. The official term for this is “non-cooperative”.
Absolutely upright officers like Prasanna Acharya Director Mines and Nikhil Desai, Managing Director GTDC (ex-Director Tourism) have had to work in a manner directed by political bosses like the Chief Minster and the Tourism Minister in the BJP regime and quite rightly their sheen has worn off. But their career fortunes haven’t. While Acharya’s career and his past reputation may be on the line if the Supreme Court finds serious violations in the manner in which mining leases were renewed, with Acharya clearly acting under the influence of big daddy mining companies, Desai is relatively lucky. There has been no serious legal scrutiny of actions he has taken or was forced to take as Director Tourism and later GTDC on spends of the department on road shows and other events abroad. A detailed financial audit on the costs incurred as well as a transparency audit on the cost benefit analysis is imperative but here’s a fact. Inspite of Chief Minister Parrikar assuring on the floor of the House that decisions all road shows, exhibitions and events done abroad need to be discussed and cleared by a committee to be set up for this purpose, decisions were ultimately taken by Goa Tourism Development Corporation, which handled marketing, branding, promotions and festivals, without any external scrutiny
Abhayankar, on the other hand was in charge of a vision and a roadmap for Goa Tourism. This included key areas like beach cleanliness, beach safety, tourist policing and master plan. And for this he needed at last two years to bring about a semblance of a change.
KPMG Advisory Services and Tourism & Leisure Advisory Services Sl (T&L) was appointed to prepare a 25-year tourism master plan for Goa and while there was genuine criticism about bringing in a hyper expensive foreign consultant to get local inputs. Abhaynkar insisted on taking the plan to the people and involve those who had operational experience.
He was also working on an App with a voice over to guide him to historical sites or cuisine specific food places. Importantly he led an initiative for the protection of the coastlines, a deviation from the kind of tourism governance in Goa which literally supervises the destruction of coastlines.
But it seems, that Abyankar was caught in a web when it came to the controversial contract for the “Comprehensive Management of Cleanliness of Goa beaches”, given to two companies – apparently headed by the same person – of Ram Engineering and Construction Company and Bhumika Clean Tech Pvt Ltd. Importantly a vigilance complaint was reportedly filed seeking a probe into the role of Avdhoot Parrikar, the brother of Manohar Parrikar. (Herald does not have independent information about the role of Avdhoot Parrikar yet, and is going by the vigilance complaint). Though he does not figure anywhere in the official papers, the complaint sought a probe into whether he attended meetings between the beach cleaning contractors and government officials, details of which have been given to the Vigilance Department. The contract for both North and South Goa was for Rs 14.56 crores, whereas earlier beach cleaning was costing Goa Rs 2 crores.
It is learnt that Tourism Director Abhyankar, who too was mentioned in the Vigilance complaint, insisted on a relook, and a proper scrutiny of the process by which these contracts were awarded. According to informed and reliable insiders in the department and key stake holders, this was one of the reasons why he was seen as a thorny spoke in the wheel of this government’s version of “development”.
The pattern is clear. When the Anti- Corruption Branch decides to probe the case of the CMs brother-in-law, caught taking a bribe, seriously, SP ACB Bosco George, a senior state cadre officer goes. When an upright Tourism Director demands transparency in his own department, he had to follow only one path – to the exit door. In his place a man handpicked by the Chief Minister (not the Tourism minister), a Grade II officer only recently promoted, Sanjeev Gauns Dessai, has been appointed as the new Tourism director, leading to widespread condemnation by the Tourism industry and bodies like TTAG.
But as always, these transfers are done in “public interest” when it is clear that each such transfer is done due to some very very influential private interests, sometimes of public figures. Goa Tourism earlier lost one of the finest IAS officers to have headed tourism, Mathew Samuel, who too was moved out. The younger Ameya Abhyankar, built of the same mettle has now followed him to the exit door.
When the going gets tough for the government, it makes sure that the tough get going. Out of the department that is.
