Criminal waste of public money
The people and also the government of Goa are fully aware of the weak financial position of the State. The CM has gone on record and asked the government departments to exercise economy in expenditure. In this situation where was the need to have a mega and pompous swearing in ceremony, inviting top dignitaries from the Centre and spending Rs 5.50 crores of public money on it?
In the last 60 years, several swearing-in ceremonies of the government have been held in Raj Bhavan which were simple yet decent and dignified. The recent swearing-in ceremony where Rs 187 lakhs were spent on putting up the stage, Rs 68 lakhs on cut-outs of Prime Minister and Rs 19 lakhs on the pandal for a short programme of 75 minutes was nothing but criminal waste of public money.
The BJP did not have a massive victory to deserve such a celebration and even if it did have, having a grandiose and pompous function such as this one was totally unjustified and ridiculous. The learned citizens and the people should drive some sense in the present government and get the legislature to pass a resolution in the Assembly not to repeat such extravagant functions in future.
Rodney de Souza, Assagao
Coronation or swearing-in?
An RTI query has revealed that our Hon’ble CM’s recent swearing in ceremony has cost us taxpayers a whopping Rs 5,59,25805; this amount does not include the rental of the SP Mukherjee stadium and advertisements released in the print, electronic media and radio. The file for approval of expenditure went through the usually musty government corridors at lightning speed and was approved by the CM and Governor within a span of 24 hours, no sanction from the finance ministry was sought. The stage erected for the ceremony itself accounted for Rs.1.87 crores, cut-outs of the politicos placed on poles cost Rs. 68.4 lakh while the lunch arranged for the attendees was billed for Rs. 57.5 lakhs. At a time when the State is in the grip of a Covid driven recession and runaway inflationary pressures on the economy, this humongous spend is infructuous and a criminal waste of taxpayers’ money.
On one hand the government preaches to us the merits of austerity while on the other it spends Rs 6 crores of public funds in what could and should have been a simple affair; the sheer hypocrisy is mind boggling to say the least. Yet another sordid saga added to this Sarkar making merry with janta’s paisa in an exercise in self aggrandisement and projection of power. Not ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ but ‘apna saath, apna vikas’ via public ka rupaiya. Nowhere else in the world do we see this kind of wasteful expenditure on what is essentially a routine constitutional exercise ,and all this when almost 80 crore Indians are subsisting on free rations doled out by the government. What a sterling example of ‘public welfare’, all hail our king CM.
Rekha Sarin, Benaulim
We need more Shripad Samants
This has reference to the report ‘A teacher moves to remote Molcornem to infuse a universe of books in a little village’ (Herald, May 6, 2022). Rightly stated, a teacher retires only on paper. And so should every other professional. This teacher, Shripad Samant, and his colleagues must be complimented on taking learning to the interiors of the state. The children in the little village of Molcornem must surely be delighted by this library containing a large number of books even E-books.
A window to the world has now been opened up by Shripad and his colleagues. Really speaking, all state governments ought to focus on taking education to the masses, to the villages, to the remotest areas of the State rather than directing their energies, time, effort and money over non issues. The nation can progress only when the common man is educated. We need more Shripad Samants and their like.
Melville X D’Souza, Mumbai
Control the damage
Every time action is taken against families of high profile politicians, there are some who raise a hue and cry. Mostly, this is to browbeat agencies or stall such actions. Remember how goons smashed Kangana Ranaut’s house at the political party behest.
The governments in the country are run as per provisions of the Constitution, and if Uddav Thackeray feels that injustice is meted out to him, there higher courts where he can seek relief. Threatening, on the other hand, is tantamount to disregarding constitutional provisions.
The Central government must not interfere in the working of Enforcement Directorate. It should be ensured that action is taken against erring individuals after proper groundwork and not through vindictive politics. When matters take political colour, it would be desirable if the ED briefs the media and apprises people about facts of the case, so that no accused can seek sympathy of the masses.
Diomedes Pereira, Corlim
Meaningful tiatr for teenage girls
Had the opportunity with my family, to watch tiatr ‘Maka Ghodlam Tem’, directed by ace comedian Sally. A meaningful script that needs to reach out to all teenage girls, who do not know the awareness of true or false love.
This tiatr is an eye opener for today’s young generation. The comedy, songs, music and stage setting have maintained the standard and kept audiences’ expectations.
First time on stage, director’s daughter comedy is best above all. My request to teenage girls’ families to come with their daughters, for this tiatr, without fail. It’s a must and I request director, to show us more better tiatrs than this in hear future.
Edgar Martins, Chinchinim
Be cautious of ‘properties on auction’
We come across very frequently the properties purported to be auctioned by the various financial institutions. However, everyone should be cautious before involving themselves in the bid process and making payment of “Earnest Money Deposit’ (EMD). It is necessary to check the reality behind such “Realty”. Financial institutions advertise the properties to be auctioned on the basis of “As is where is’; “As is what is”; and “Whatever there is”. Whereas the first two conditions may refer to the location and physical conditions of the properties; the third one may carry bigger meaning as to the various liabilities attached to it.
Recently we planned to participate in a bid process of the industrial property with the reserve price of about Rs30 lakhs. We requested the bankers to provide the feedback of the various liabilities attached to it like outstanding Electricity Bill/Water Bill/Lease Rent/House Tax, etc. However, the financing institution kept on dodging us on the issue. We had to dig ourselves about the information. We were dumbstruck to know that there are a whopping Rs9 lakhs outstanding of electricity bills. Total liabilities we came across are more than Rs 11 lakhs on a very small shed with a minimum bid price also being quite high.
Shouldn’t the financial institutions inform the public who want to participate in the bid about the external outstandings? No; they don’t. They keep quiet and in the process try to deceive the gullible participants. In my opinion the RBI should make it compulsory for the banks to disclose the full information at the time of advertising for the auction. They try to shirk the responsibility behind the legally coined words. We had to unnecessarily waste our days besides incurring significant expenditure on travel; to go to the extreme corner of Goa to first have a look and then find outstanding dues, etc.
Rajendra Kumar Motwani, Caranzalem
