PANJIM: Former minister and Porvorim Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Rohan Khaunte, the only legislator to win elections as an independent candidate for two consecutive terms, is set to defend his turf for the third time banking on the plank of development of the constituency.
Porvorim, which is growing as an urbanised area, consists of three village panchayats namely Penha Da Franca, Salvador Do Mundo and Socorro, Khaunte has nursed it well.
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During his last 10 years and particularly when he became the minister, he undertook various projects to provide the basic amenities to his constituents. He took initiatives and commissioned a 15-MLD water treatment plant to overcome irregular water supply crisis.
He also undertook the work of laying underground power cables and the constituency has been covered with underground cabling in the first phase. Porvorim is witnessing rapid growth and many projects such as government offices including Secretariat, Assembly Complex and High Court building are situated in the constituency, putting additional pressure on the existing infrastructure.
According to Khaunte, it is the respective village panchayats and sarpanchas, who are issuing licences for the projects and the local MLA has no role to play.
Khaunte, who quit and joined BJP, said that he is not the defector like others who switched their loyalties to other parties for plum positions.
He says, “I have respected the mandate of the people. After the end of my term, I resigned. Then I consulted my workers and supporters for two days and they decided that I should join the BJP. It was their thought process.”’
On allegation of scams by the candidate fielded by other parties Khaunte said that he is not involved in any scams or criminal activities and could it be proved that while he was in the opposition as a vocal MLA, the government wouldn’t have left any chances for filling criminal cases against him.
He said those who are labelling charges against him were themselves involved in land scams and trying to divert attention of the voters during elections.
Khaunte said that he is one of the few MLAs, who have given report cards against the earlier two term manifesto’s showing his accountability towards the people. The Porvorim-centric manifesto has also been drafted by taking into account the views of the people, he added.
”Candidates fielded by other political parties against me are making baseless allegations and are not aware of the facts. They are just making baseless allegations; it is not going to help anybody. Porvorkars are smart enough to know what has been done for them and what type of projects have been completed with inclusive development and sustainable development,” he said.
Referring to the urbanisation and large scale construction activities, he said that every area grows, grows with sustainable development. Besides the Secretariat, Goa Assembly Complex and many government offices are being shifted to Porvorim. Residential and commercial complexes are also coming up putting pressure on existing infrastructure. Unfortunately, the local MLA is blamed for this while it is the responsibility of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department and sarpanch of the respective panchayats whether to grant permissions or not,” he said.
Khaunte alleged that one of the candidates contesting against him was responsible for haphazard development in Socorro village during his tenure as a sarpanch. People of Porvorim are smart to read between the lines and they will not fall prey to such baseless charge and rumour mongering.
“I have full faith and trust in the people and this is how Porvorim is progressing and we are talking about Porvorim Rising,” he said.
Former Salvador Do Mundo and present panchayat member Sandeep Salgaonkar said that Khaunte is the only MLA, who is accessible and available at any odd hours.
He said during his stint as sarpanch for six years, Khaunte was able to take up many development works including panchayat ghar-cum-community hall in the village.
Khaunte is the only MLA who has thinking and vision for the constituency, he said
Porovirm Self-Help Groups Federation Marina Moraes said that Khaunte is approachable and has a strong connect with the people.
She said that during the tenure of his predecessor, a handful of families had benefited but Khaunte saw that everybody benefited.
It was due to Khaunte’s efforts that more than 200 SHGs were formed which are helping women earn their livelihood.
Ibrahim Agha, a senior citizen from Socorro, praised Khaunte for undertaking all round development of the constituency.
Khaunte is the only MLA, who has worked for everybody irrespective of religion or caste, Aga said expressing confidence that he will make a hat-trick by winning this election.
