Medium of Instruction (MoI)
The promise of an ‘amicable solution’ by the BJP-led government on the controversial MoI issue is well remembered by voters. The subject showed the Congress the power of voters after the then government imposed English as the MoI at the primary level. History seems to be repeating itself but this time for the saffron party which is facing a tough time handing the ‘rebels’ (BBSM). The language issue is likely to be in focus in the coming Assembly election.
Four years after assuring the ‘amicable solution’, the government is still in a fix on deciding on the controversial issue which has created a divide among educationists. It has been nearly 18 months since the government introduced the MoI police which says that grants would be entitled to schools with Marathi or Konkani as the MoI at the primary level with English as a compulsory subject. For the minority schools, bilingual books would be used with Konkani or Marathi as one of the compulsory subjects till Grade IV.
Then Chief Minister, Manohar Parrikar assured to introduce and pass the policy during the Winter Session in January 2015 but in his absence (elevated to Union Defence Minister), the Parsekar-lef government said that it would be tabled in the 2015 budget session. After missing both deadlines, it was during the Monsoon Session last year that thousands of parents and teachers took to the streets for hours. This was coupled with a week-long hunger strike by FORCE leader, Savio Lopes.
Regional Plan 2021 (RP21)
The RP issue also saw hundreds of people take to the streets, including Parrikar, opposing and exposing the large scale illegalities that the then Congress government wanted to impose on the people of Goa through the RP21. But four years down the line, there seems to be no difference under the BJP.
The promise was to scrap the RP21 and draft a new plan, keeping in mind the identity and eco-friendly nature of Goa. The Parsekar government though, introduced several laws including the Goa Investment Act and an amendment to the Town and Country Planning Act, allowing eco-tourism in eco-sensitive areas that supercede the RP.
Under the Investment Act, the government has granted blatant permissions for land conversion, development into No Development Zones etc in a bid to promote Goa as an investment destination.
Mining blunder
The decision of the BJP government to put a total ban on mining, the backbone of the State’s economy, in September 2012 was a major setback to the coffers and to the lives of lakhs of people depended on the business for decades.
The e-auction of ore hasn’t fetched much cheer for the state or mining companies or people dependent on the business. While the Apex Court lifted the ban on April 21, 2014, the State followed suit and did so in January 2015. However, poor market conditions, taxation by the state and Centre and the internal fight between the mining company, Sesa Goa (the only one to begin operations) and truck owners over transportation of ore was another hurdle in the way of kick starting the industry.
The State exchequer suffered losses of nearly a thousand crores every year, including the ongoing FY 2015-16. The government did make an effort to revive the industry but eventually failed.
While the issue of restarting the industry and the plight of people caught the attention, the crucial issue of recovery of Rs 35,000 crore and the prosecution of senior politicians and mining bigwigs as pointed out by the Justice MB Shah Commission in its inquiry report got sidelined. The government even tried to cover it up in the name of the ban.
Shifting of off-shore Casino out of Mandovi
The promise to shift the off shore casino vessels out of River Mandovi is another failed promise. The saffron party has completely backtracked on its promise to shift these vessels out of the river. After initially granting them an extension from December 2015 to March 2016, the government has not made any arrangement for an alternate site. With only 27 days left, another extension is on the cards.
Though the issue is not highlighted in the manifesto, it was a tall promise of Parrikar who, during his tenure as leader of the opposition held a massive dharna in Panjim opposing the casino culture.
