The stage is set for the foundation stone laying of the new Raj Bhavan building at Dona Paula with President Ram Nath Kovind scheduled to do the honours on May 30 coinciding with Goa’s 35th Statehood Day. The project has been at the centre of an Opposition debate with South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha and Leader of the Opposition Michael Lobo appealing to the government to refocus on priorities amid “the financial crunch”.
The Governor’s office has in a press communique stated that the 400-year-old Raj Bhavan structure has undergone a lot of wear and tear resulting in huge money being spent on maintenance. It has added that the needs of the Raj Bhavan have undergone a great deal of change requiring more space with modern facilities, and have assured that the existing structure will not be disturbed or modified in any aspects. There’s no denying that the government is paying a hefty amount towards maintenance, but the question is whether building a new Raj Bhavan at this hour makes sense when the State is already in financial misery.
The government may have made a budgetary announcement on this project, but the core question is about finances. The project critics have a point, and the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant himself had gone on record advising fiscal prudence and austerity on several occasions. That’s not all. Goa’s worries have worsened since the central government is likely to stop GST compensation for States from July. The State government already has a headache trying to fill up the massive tax revenue gap of around Rs 1,000 crore. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) too pointed out that Goa is under tremendous economic pressure due to mining stoppage, the pandemic and inflation.
The need of the hour is prudent decision-making. Since the government has already made up its mind on the new Raj Bhavan, it made no sense in spending for a spacious Rs 7-crore durbar hall at the existing Raj Bhavan, meant to accommodate a 1,000-capacity crowd for swearing-in ceremonies and state receptions, more especially when swearing-ins have become a grand stage of festivity as seen recently at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium, Taleigao. Also, we are far short of taking pride in the new infrastructure that Goa has seen lately. A case in point is the recently built Atal Setu bridge over the Mandovi river that has developed potholes, leave alone the ongoing national highway works that have been highly inconsistent and patchy.
While infrastructural development is needed for growth, the government has to show extreme fiscal maturity in handling finances and the economy. It cannot just pay lip service and go about development that runs contrary to the grim reality and contrary to what it otherwise preaches. Given the circumstances and till our financials improve, it would have been logical to continue bearing the maintenance cost of the existing Raj Bhavan instead of investing heavily in another modern state-of-the-art structure. The decision to go for a new Raj Bhavan is ill-timed.
