And before we know it, the first deadline for the arrangement of governance, through a Cabinet Advisory Committee will be over on March 31. It is presumed that the period will be extended for another period till there is further clarity on the return of Chief Minister Parrikar to active work.
Let’s cut to the chase. It is time, and Mr Parrikar will perhaps be the first person to agree to this, the critical departments which are run by him should be temporarily handed over members of the Cabinet Advisory Committee or even to other ministers with the recommendation of the CAC and final approval of Mr Parrikar. The departments of Home, Finance and Personnel, Mining and the governance of the Mopa airport construction, need ministerial attention of the highest order. The process to restart mining in the earliest possible, but at the same time practical, state centric manner, needs to begin with decision making, which will hold good for another decade or so. Even for arguments sake, and purely for that purpose alone, if the state wins a review and manages to reprieve mining with the same leases till 2020, as per the MMDR Act amendment which allowed non-renewed eases to function till then, the state still has to formulate and prepare for the new mining landscape post that.
The war against drugs and prostitution, as a part of a larger exercise to clean Goa, was initiated after a massive outcry against the rapid spread of both and the nexus between drug sellers and rave and trance party organisers. While this hasn’t been flagged as often as it should be on Goa’s list of priorities, Mr Parrikar had given a specific mandate by saying “the results will be there for all to see”. The battle is not just against ordinary drug sellers, but against a well oiled global system which operates with thousands and thousands of dollars. Directions to carry on with this campaign and giving it fillip has to come from a minister in charge.
Meanwhile the finance department is the key to the functioning of the government and while Mr Parrikar operates through his trusted Additonal Secratary Michael D’Souza, (and of coursed the Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary, Mr Dhamendra Sharma and Mr Daulat Hawaldar), the allocation of a minister is an immediate priority.
It is stating the obvious that the pace of the Mopa airport project needs to be enhanced, including the expressway which will connect Mopa to other parts of Goa. The same holds true for all other infrastructure projects including the Smart City mission, which used to benefit from Parrikar’s personal attention.
Meanwhile there are attention seeking fires that need political leadership and damage control. A state wide waste management mission needs to be launched which will need direction and supervision, speed governors need to be installed in taxis as per court directions, for which professional vendors need to be identified and digital meters in taxis have to be installed. At the same time any uprising against introducing App-based taxis where current taxi owners can actually own the business has to be dealt with.
As we delve further into this, similar or other such instances are bound to be recalled. But what s needed, is the presence of ministers to take responsibility and accountability. But it has to begin with the bureaucracy impressing upon the Chief Minister to take such calls for the greater good of the state and his government.
