VITHALDAS HEGDE
vhegde3@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Putting an end to immense speculation over the fate of eight Congress MLAs who defected to the BJP recently, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, in a conversation with O Heraldo on the eve of his birthday, announced a cabinet reshuffle before the Karnataka Assembly elections on May 10, a little over two weeks from now.
“Yes. There will be a cabinet reshuffle soon. I want to induct them as soon as possible. It will be done and they will be inducted before the Karnataka Assembly elections”, he said when asked if the long-expected cabinet reshuffle was the cards to accommodate the eight Congress defectors.
The eight MLAs who defected to the BJP, on September 14, 2022, after swearing that they wouldn’t ditch the party are former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, former Leader of the Opposition Michael Lobo, his wife, Delilah Lobo, long-time Congress loyalists Aleixo Sequeira and Sankalp Amonkar, as well as Rodolfo Fernandes, Rajesh Faldessai and Kedar Naik. It seems that their prize – a cabinet berth, will be given to some, eight months after their deed.
The Chief Minister answered a wide range of questions from the government stand to Mhadei, to the State’s financial condition and loan paying abilities, to the slow pace of disbursal of benefits to beneficiaries of government schemes and his take on the development of infrastructure.
Asked about allegations that the government has compromised on Mhadei water and allowed the diversion of water to Karnataka, Chief Minister Sawant said, “Some people want to politicise the Mhadei issue. For me, it is not politics. I want to protect and preserve Goa’s identity and maintain greenery. For me, Mhadei is like my mother. I am the first Chief Minister to challenge Karnataka’s attempts in Supreme Court. I reiterate that my government will not allow diversion of Mhadei water at any cost.”
He went on to add, “The establishment of Mhadei Pravah (Mhadei Water Authority) is 50 percent victory for Goa.”
He said, “Secondly, I appreciate the signing of the Tillari Irrigation Project agreement between the Goa and Maharashtra governments. I want to streamline it so that Tillari irrigation water is provided through both – the right bank canal and left bank canal in the State.”
In 2019, the administration had to be brought back to the tracks and the financial position had to be improved
Reacting to questions on the financial health of the State, Pramod Sawant said, “Everybody knows under what condition I took over the reins of the State in March 2019. It was a challenge for me to bring the administration back on track and to improve the financial position of the State to keep the wheels of the economy running and ensure that the benefits of schemes reach the beneficiaries. I started interacting with people and provided online services. I restructured loans and took soft loans. I also introduced discounting system to clear pending bills of contractors and RLX Technology platform. Also starting of ‘Prashasan Tumchya Dari’ in all talukas, helped people to get their issues redressed as my Cabinet Ministers heard them and gave on-the-spot instructions to officials.
Loan burden: There will be no need to avail fresh loans for the next two years
Stating that the government reduced loans from Rs 3,500 crore to Rs 1,300 crore, CM Sawant said, “There will be no situation for the State to obtain loans after the next two years because by then mining activity will resume and Mopa international airport has also started generating revenues. “I can firmly tell you that the GST collection of the State has increased from 25 percent to 35 percent while VAT collection also increased. We regularised illegal businesses of many people under ‘Ease of Doing Business’, which helped the State to a great extent.
Repayment of public debt Rs 21,940 crore will take some time
The Chief Minister said that it will take some time to repay loans because loans were taken over the last 20 years. “We have now revised loans and brought down interest rate from 12 percent to 7 percent. We will repay all loans well in time. We have kept a target for revenue collection. We achieved a revenue surplus of Rs 59.69 crore for the year ending March 31, 2023. Our revenue collection on water consumption has also increased by Rs 40 crore and that too when we are providing 16 cubic metres of free water to almost 40 percent of the population,” he informed.
Delays in the disbursement of scheme amount to beneficiaries to be streamlined in two months
On the potentially contentious issue of benefits of government schemes reaching beneficiaries, the Chief Minister said, “I am personally monitoring social schemes and after two months beneficiaries will start receiving their monthly assistance regularly be it Dayanand Social Security Scheme, Griha Aadhar scheme, Laadli Laxmi scheme and also scholarships to students, as students in the past had to wait for two years to get these benefits. We have now introduced IT interventions and online banking and it will benefit both, the beneficiaries and the government for timely disbursal of these doles and scholarships. It will be streamlined within the next two months.
Infrastructure: Rs 32,000 crore infrastructure development has been carried out in the State
“We are not lagging behind on infrastructure for tourism, roads and port connectivity to name a few. Now we are undertaking pending works of constructing a flyover at Porvorim, Western Bypass, and Canacona Bypass on National Highway 66 and after completing these works, the travel time from Pernem to Polem will be reduced and will be covered in 90 minutes,” he said.
Elaborating further, he informed, “We will also take up work of constructing the new Borim Bridge after completing the missing link road upto Loutolim, Khandepar connection, and Mollem bypass road. We will also take up the construction of the Chorao to Salvador do Mundo Bridge for which a budgetary provision of Rs 250 crore has been provided.
Skilling, re-skilling, and up-skilling at the gram panchayat level under Swayampurna Goa flagship programme
Commenting on the Government’s flagship Swayampurna Goa programme across 191 Village Panchayats, the Chief Minister said, “We are taking up various activities in every village panchayat daily. I have now decided to establish Swayampurna Goa Board for which I have allocated Rs 7 crore in the budget. We want to do skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling not only in the institutions, but at the gram panchayat level where required training will be given to people to start self-employment and take the State to a sustainable path.
The Goa Restriction on Transfer of Agricultural Land Bill, 2023, brought with good intentions, in the interest of Goa
Finally, on the landmark, The Goa Restriction on Transfer of Agricultural Land Bill, Chief Minister Sawant explained, “Those who are opposing the Bill should welcome it because if any person acquires agricultural land and fails to cultivate it within three years then the land will vest in the government and not the original seller. This Bill is brought with good intentions and it is completely in the interest of Goa. I am ready to make changes to it but people should welcome it because I have tried to preserve agricultural land.
