Team Herald
MARGAO: Goans For Goa (GFG) has demanded that if the South Goa District Development Committee fails to come up with a district development plan (DDP), then funds should not be disbursed to the Zilla Panchayat.
Claiming it would amount to a waste of the exchequer money, GFG President Kennedy Afonso pointed out that since the first district planning committee (DPC) was formed some fifteen years ago, all of them have failed to provide a DDP worth its name. He stated, “It’s a shame that Goa is moving ahead without a DDP for the last 15 years, and it speaks a lot about the type of governance we are running.”
Afonso was reacting to the recent elections of the ZP development planning committee on October 6.
GFG stated that it wants to inform the new Panchayat Minster Rajendra Arlekar that these DPCs have only served as white elephants and have failed miserably at the job of district planning that was entrusted to them.
“The DPCs are elected every three years, and are responsible for planning and deciding the development works for North and South Goa by sewing together the ‘development plans’ prepared by the ‘ward committees’ in collaboration with the elected representatives of the respective panchayats or municipalities,” said Afonso.
He added, “The DPC is further required to send the finalised plans to the State government to execute developmental works. GFG is aware that the government has created this situation to carry out its agenda of unplanned development. In the absence of a DDP, the government is dumping unplanned and unwanted projects on the people of Goa.”
GFG pointed out that it is for this reason that people were protesting and crying hoarse against unplanned projects in Tiracol and Carmona.
GFG demanded that the panchayat minister take urgent steps to ensure that Goa gets a DDP before it goes to polls in 2017, otherwise the BJP should refrain from contesting the elections.
GFG also demanded that the panchayat minister ensure that ward committees are formed in the panchayats/municipalities.
“However, most panchayat representatives are sabotaging the formation of these ward committees as they feel that the power to plan goes into the hands of the villagers. Without these ward committees, village development plans cannot be made, and this has a direct consequence on the formation of the DDP, the GFG said.
In the past the DDCs have blamed the panchayats and municipalities for not submitting their development plans,” said GFG.
GFG also demanded that the formation of the ward committees and DDP should be undertaken on a war footing to put an end to unplanned development that is currently destroying Goa. It stated that a step in the direction would allow grassroots democracy to bloom and flourish.
