Proactive and astute governor
Your very apt editorial “Focus on Pandemic, that’s what Govt should be doing”( August 2 ) must awaken the Chief Minister and his insensitive government to the sheer grim financial reality that the State is going through on account of the current raging deadly virus.
We must applaud Governor Satya Pal Malik for having shot down that devious proposal of the Chief Minister to needlessly construct a new Raj Bhavan for the State. It is an irony that a very cash strapped Goa government which is struggling to even pay the salaries of its staff, has had the rank audacity to senselessly announce grandiose new projects like a new Raj Bhavan.
Our poor old age pensioners have not received their Dayanand Social Security payments for the last four months while the government has been borrowing crores every month to tide up the expenses, so it is despicable that the Chief Minister announced about a new Raj Bhavan and a seven crore facelift for the Assembly Complex.
As the dire economic consequences of the current raging pandemic is looming large, the Government should act responsibly and get its priorities right by imposing a total embargo on any new projects.
With a very irresponsible and insensitive Government in power, our only saving grace is that in Satya Pal Malik we have a very proactive and astute Governor who will not tolerate or approve any reckless actions and wrong decisions. Governor Malik is very modest, practical and someone who believes in delivering good governance to the poorest of the poor. During my meetings with him one could sense how pained and distressed the Governor is at the manner in which Goa was being misgoverned.
Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
Saving Raj Bhavan
It is indeed divine providence and God’s blessing that Goa has a Governor who has a logical scientific line of thinking, and who is to be trusted and respected. Not surprising is the Governor’s shooting down of the hare brained proposal to decommission the present Raj Bhavan and build a new one in replacement at the cost of a huge amount of money at a time when the state is facing financial crisis, with government unable to meet its financial commitments, because of various justifiable and unjustifiable reasons.
The idea to pour scarce and precious money down the drain into a new Raj Bhavan is absolutely a deplorable type of thinking . Even the simplest of minds may guess why this Alice in Wonderland proposal has suddenly been trust upon the poor suffering citizens of Goa.
The present Raj Bhavan is a majestic structure set in the midst of majestic grounds at a very strategic location and no matter how much search may be launched a better site would be difficult to come by. The Raj Bhavan is stuffed with priceless antiques and artefacts. If I am not mistaken, an enlightened Governor Sataralwala had commissioned the one and only late Senor Percival Noronha to carefully photograph from three angles ,describe and catalogue the priceless contents of the Raj Bhavan,to protect and preserve them for posterity.
One can only hope and pray that a proper inventory and account is being maintained of all these priceless antiquities and artefacts, which are are handed over from one Gubernatorial tenure to the next, and that a periodic professional inspection and audit of the same is maintained. Is it possible that some very imaginative minds are eyeing the priceless real estate location and the priceless antiques and artefacts housed in the Raj Bhavan.
If the present condition and fate of the Atal Setu bridge, and the new roads that have been built, that were unable to withstand one monsoon is anything to judge by, one can only imagine what would be the fate of the Governor if he were to be forced to move into a new Raj Bhavan, that in all probability will not stand the test of more than one or two monsoons, given the track record of the present authorities, technical or administrative.
And of course , this would be followed by many ore crores being spent on corrective maintainance Therefore it is indeed God’s blessing that the respected Governor has shot down this proposal and one can only hope and pray that his view and decisions will prevail.
Rosario Menezes, Vasco
Rebuttal by Governor
Close on the heels of the rebuttal on the bloomer by CM Pramod Sawant on the COVID-19 issue comes another reprimand by the Governor rejecting the proposal of construction of a new Raj Bhavan citing the precarious nature of the state’s finances amidst the corona crisis, thereby exposing his immaturity in tackling a crisis ridden situation.
Wielding the cleft stick, the Governor Satya Pal Malik should also use his constitutional powers to put brakes on the other eco-sensitive projects that are being fast tracked by the Govt. ignoring the public protests by taking advantage of the pandemic situation of double laning of the railway tracks to facilitate transportation of the pollution laden Adani coal by rail to power stations in Karnataka and wasting colossal amount of money in building a Samadhi for late CM Parrikar on the pristine Miramar beach.
The Governor will also do well to check the profligacy of the Government’s spending spree in buying expensive cars for the MLAs who are hell-bent on self aggrandizement knowing well that they would face a humiliating defeat in the ensuing assembly elections due to their betrayal of the electorate. The adamancy of the Govt. has come into scrutiny in the conduct of a one day budget session to bulldoze the opposition into submission of its nefarious deeds.
At this critical juncture where governments of other countries provide stimulus packages to industries for revival of their businesses and financial support to citizens to tide over the unprecedented crisis, our government is fleecing its citizens by raising all round taxes of petrol and diesel when the international crude prices have softened, including abolition of LPG subsidies and surreptitiously withdrawing the railway concession to senior citizens, not to mention the spiralling prices of essential consumer staples.
It’s early days to gauge the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the trail of destruction it will leave behind in its aftermath which has affected every facet of human life except for the politicos who convert pandemics into windfall opportunities.
Everette Assis Telles, Margao
Valor tuka Governor
During this Covid-19 situation when huge numbers of people are fighting against this virus our Goa State government is out to waste public money. One side our CM Pramod says State is running shortage of money and on other side they have huge amount to build Governor new building. This clearly shows how much our State government care and love about the people health of Goa and Goans. This is a money making business and a eye on the land racket. Thanks to our governor of Goa for you decision for not approving new governor building its is wastage of money, at present we required good health facility to take care of people of Goa, doctors and nurses and good facilities with proper PPA to the staff’s working on Covid 19 case’s.
Proposal of new Raj Bhavan is not a need of an hour which Governor had already cleared saying that my requirements are very limited and don’t need new building in this situation when we have financial problems. Today all we need is good roads, good hospitals, good network coverage, proper electricity and bridges which is important for us. Stop wasting money unnecessary on unwanted things like statue’s, building new building complex etc.
Ronnie D’Souza, Chandor
