This is because the answer could break his case and lead to him losing it. Perhaps our politicians should be taught that they should not take rash decisions without weighing the pros and cons of the effect, and also the reaction to it. Newton’s third law of motion – for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction – is perhaps also something that the politicians should keep in mind when taking decisions.
It must have felt good when the Power Minister decided to cut off the electricity supply to the Panjim Municipal market for unpaid dues. It showed that he had the power to do so. A day later the Chief Minister directed that the supply be restored, and the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has finally decided to pay the dues. But here comes the catch. The CCP, now aggrieved by the decision to force it to pay the electricity charges and the accumulated interest, has decided that beginning next month it will not lift garbage from government departments as the departments do not pay the garbage fee to the municipal corporation. How’s that for a reply from the corporation?
Look at it this way: If the municipal corporation should pay the government for electricity charges, why shouldn’t the government pay the municipality the garbage collection charges? Really, there can be no argument on this. The residents of Panjim pay the garbage collection charges that have been added to the house tax that is paid annually, the commercial establishments of Panjim also pay the charges to the CCP, why then shouldn’t the government departments? For that matter, why shouldn’t the residents of the government quarters also pay these charges? For years the CCP has been criticised for its failures to collect taxes from various establishments in the city, little did the residents realise that they were subsidising the garbage collection of the government departments that have not been paying this.
The big question now is whether CCP will walk the talk, or is this merely a threat made to show that it too can wag its tail when pushed to a corner. Imagine the amount of garbage in every government department beginning November 1, if CCP acts on its decision. It may be said that an aggrieved CCP is acting out of spite, even that it is being petty, but it is clear that their argument would be valid – if the municipality has to pay for a service from a government department, so too should the government pay for a service from the municipality. This should apply not just to the CCP and government offices in Panjim, but to every municipality and the government offices they house. The State should follow the principle of let everybody pay for the services utilised. It is perhaps the best policy.
However, this is not the manner in which a government and its departments are meant to work. Situations and standoffs such as these expose the immaturity of the political class.They are elected and are meant to be providing a service to the people, instead of wasting time, energy and money on debating among themselves on such issues. The government is there to make life easier for the people and elected representatives can sit across a table and discuss issues plaguing their departments, before jumping the gun with ill-advised decisions. It may be a better practice if ministers are given an understanding of what is expected from them, rather than them being given a free hand to do as they please.
