The BJP is still patting itself on the back and the Congress is sulking. In the end and after backroom manoeuvring the BJP ended up with six municipal councils in the kitty and the Congress with four. A tie in Canacona forced the authorities to flip a coin and the BJP lost, twice. But now that all 11 municipal councils have elected chairpersons and deputies, the hard task of governing Goa's towns and cities will begin with great earnest and enthusiasm. The question that begs an answer is, will the new set of councillors succeed where the outgoing council failed?
A common problem that stares every town in the face is traffic mismanagement. The number of vehicles has increased while parking spaces have, by and large, remained static. Attempts at regulating traffic have been either thwarted by traders who fear loss in business or politicians who lack the will to implement hard decisions. The antipathy of vehicle owners and traders towards pay parking is deep rooted and overcoming this is an uphill task if councillors and the MLA are not on the same page. Garbage collection and disposal is another pressing issue. While Margao, Bicholim and Cuncolim have treatment plants, the remaining municipalities are facing problems. In Curchorem construction of a plant was thwarted by the outgoing council which was skeptical about the technology and fearful that garbage from other parts of South Goa would be treated at the plant. The approach to garbage treatment is fragmented and unless the State government and municipal councils work in tandem, a holistic solution will evade Goa's cities and towns.
Another problem faced by municipal councils is revenue generation. Most municipalities are short on funds as tax collection is poor. Arrears of house tax alone runs into crores of rupees in the bigger towns and municipalities have been less than enthusiastic in collecting past dues. The law in this regard is not of much help. Consequently, municipalities are dependent on the government for development grants. But even when these are distributed they are not used and large part of the grants remain unutilised. For instance a large portion of the silver jubilee grants remained unused or locked in fixed deposits. In the financial year 2014-15 of the Rs 27 crore granted to municipal council,s more than Rs 15 crore remained unutilised. This reflects poorly on the quality of councillors elected by citizens.
Apart from these pressing problems which have defied solutions, each municipality has its unique set of issues like stray dogs, sewage disposal, illegal constructions and more. E-governance is not exactly a mantra with the new councils and the last time an effort was made to take services online, the chief officer was forced out. It is noticed that development is more rapid in municipalities aligned with the government and where the local MLA is engaged in resolving problems and clearing bottlenecks.
Goa's cities have not been well governed and civic systems are a far cry from cities in developing nations. Instead of looking on while Panaji competes for smart city funds, other cities and towns would do well to use the benchmarks set in the scheme as a goal. There is no tearing hurry to resolve all issues at one go, but there is a need to build public opinion in a foundation for change and set the cornerstone for progress from chaos to order.
