On Monday, the hollowness of promises made by ministers in the government began to show as timelines set for completion of respective works lay forgotten. First up, Revenue Minister Atanasio Monserrate stated that dedicated mamlatdars will be appointed in all talukas to expedite pending mundkarial and tenancy cases. He disclosed that a meeting is scheduled with the secretary and collectors of both the districts to take it forward. Lest we forget, the minister had announced in April this year that all pending mundkarial cases will be disposed of within 6 months.
While Monserrate seems to have identified the lack of dedicated mamlatdars for the job, we fail to understand why the minister took three months to address it, especially when there was a timeline to catch up. On what basis was an assurance given to wipe off all pending mundkarial cases in six months?
We recall the time since the tenure of Wilfred D’Souza as the chief minister that mamlatdars had been appointed specifically to hear and dispose of tenancy and mundkarial cases, but were subsequently engaged in other tasks thereby completely defeating the purpose for which they were appointed. There is no harm in having designated mamlatdars, but again, there has to be a proportional increase in other administrative staff. There has to be a holistic view of the issue.
Next up is PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral's assertion that he is facing a 50 per cent staff shortage and that files are pending with the chief secretary. The question is, that this is an internal matter of the government, and the public cannot be inconvenienced on account of this. The BJP-led government has been in power for 10 years on the trot from 2012, and an excuse of 50 per cent staff shortage is not acceptable against the backdrop of the government’s consistent promises of creating jobs, leave alone filling the existing vacancies.
Lastly, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant proudly showcased his pet “Swayampurna Goa” programme in Delhi and made a pitch on how his government is aiming to achieve self-sufficiency in the State. Sawant was speaking at the governing council meeting of the Niti Aayog in the national capital.
The chief minister’s enthusiasm for attaining self-sufficiency is understandable, and the various initiatives spelt out in Delhi such as crop diversification and boosting the cultivation of pulses and oil seeds make up for interesting listening. The reality, however, is that Goa has miles to cover on this journey of self-sufficiency. The State needs a paradigm shift in approach and an agricultural revolution to achieve self-reliance and more importantly, the overall attitude towards the sector has to change.
The issue of the wastage of 242 tonnes of our dal and 10.2 metric tonnes of sugar tells a story that not only stands in contrast but exposes the sheer lack of commitment to agriculture and its produce. It has now come to light that both Sawant and Civil Supplies Minister Govind Gaude approved the purchase after a note in this regard was put up by the Secretary of Civil Supplies Isha Khosla.
It’s time that ministers in the government stop making monumental headline-grabbing promises that they cannot keep up.
