There are two kinds of narratives played out in Goa today. The political narrative of a governance of, by and for deceit, a governance which disrespects promises made in the House – like that of Special Status, or decisions taken by the cabinet – that the new MoI policy which included grants for English, or the totally abusive stand on casinos where the BJP actually called the licensing of casinos as illegal when in opposition to now say investments can’t be turned down. And there’s the basic narrative of day to governance which allows, we the people to live a life where the basics are taken care of- water, power, fresh air, relatively manageable traffic and safe roads.
The BJP government has not just failed – that would be too lenient a term for the crime committed on us- it has manipulated and hoodwinked the mandate given to them to systematically lower and then grind the quality of life that we lead in Goa to dust. The simple pleasures of day to day living where freshness and rejuvenation were the hallmarks of Goa have been destroyed. Yes Goa lived without electricity very comfortably in an era where when we were not as power dependent. But no government in 2016 can justify or explain why reeling power outages for days can be justified on any account.
Meanwhile no manifesto or mandate allows a government to sit back as water pipelines run dry and spew muddy water across three talukas of Goa simultaneously. A quick background check of what may have happened, (since the governments divorce from transparency forbids it from taking people into confidence), points to a reduction of water supply due to fault in the filtration plant which led to a trickledown effect on the pipes forcing the pipes to go dry. Then when there was a fresh release of water, the dirt from dry pipes could have led to contaminated water. The PWD attempted a more scientific explanation that the turbidity levels in the water had shot up due to sudden rains. These levels, it is learnt were four times more than World Health Organisation specified levels. The question is, why did the PWD allow release of water which was so high on turbidity and resultant contamination.
There are reports, which are unconfirmed – but need to be mentioned because the ‘better safe than sorry’ principle applies here- that when there is pressure to release water, the treatment process is completely compromised. This is far too serious even as an allegation because lives are at risk if this is true. And if not there is no harm is ensuring fool proof water treatment.
So how does the government account for the abject neglect of the delivery of public? The recourse has to come from law rather than the executive because the executive is the culprit. The Goa (right of citizens to time-bound delivery of public services) Act 2013 set out in its schedule, the specified time limit within which designated officers of any government department or public authority must provide citizens the service they have requested. This has to be modified to include a time limit for a government department to restore a service which has failed and hold to account those who fail to restore the service in a time-bound manner. This should extend to departments which stop delivering clean water, uninterrupted power and communication services telephones and the internet.
Criminal action and punishments is the only route since more humane forms of redressals have failed. For instance how else do you deal with the Miramar-Dona Paula road being shut off again with the CCP and the PWD trading blame charges. Over Rs 80 crores of public money has been spent to fix a road which was not broken, to break it down totally. Not only should the delivery of public services act be modified and applied here as mentioned, but even the ESMA (Essential Services Maintenance Act) which is used to prevent unauthorized strikes be extended to cover those officials who allow essential services to break down while in duty and do not restore them. Offences under this are non-bailable.
The people of Goa have cried hoarse demanding the basics. Nothing short of criminal action for non-delivery or non restoration of broken services on time will ensure the basics. Added to the guilt of betraying Goans on issues of free choice in education, and protecting the identity and land of our state, this BJP government is guilty of criminal negligence and destroying the quality of life for those who live here.
