Two crucial issues took centre stage at the House on Day-2 of the ongoing Assembly session — the Mhadei water tangle and the forest fires. The Opposition pushed the ruling benches on the defensive -- especially chief minister Pramod Sawant and WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar — with questions that carried political undertones and rhetoric.
Although a section of a day in the previous session was dedicated to discussing Mhadei, the issue raised its head again with Opposition benches trying to revisit Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s speech in Karnataka. Both the CM and WRD minister were pushed into a tight spot in distancing from the comments of Shah, knowing the political gravity of the same. And, much of the Mhadei discussion revolved around creating an embarrassment rather than seeking a resolution.
Finally, nothing was achieved as the WRD minister seized an opportunity to explain how his department was trying to manage water resources throughout the state. He took the Opposition benches on a journey spanning Shiroda and parts of Bardez. This was followed by CM, in his typical style, listing out steps taken and, with that, managed to wriggle out of a tight situation.
However, the government admitted that Karnataka is not allowing Goa’s officials to visit the Mhadei site and that several officials in the past have been harassed and detained while embarking on an inspection of the contentious areas. This raises questions about the allegations of work at the Khalasa Bhandura sites. Here, the Opposition should have pushed for a joint delegation to visit the sites to understand the ground reality. Without ground-truthing, allegations of water being already diverted appear baseless.
The post-lunch session saw the ruling benches facing the heat over the forest fires issue, with legislators cutting across party lines standing up seeking answers. Surprisingly, the government was found napping because, almost a month after the first fire broke out, there was no clarity on what triggered the blaze, even as the government continued to hold on to its unfounded belief that the fires were man-made. The only change is the hint of doubt thrown in this time about hot and humid weather playing some part.
The pressure on the treasury benches was showing. The shortcomings were followed up by suggestions like sourcing helicopters for fighting fires and forming a separate team only for fires. The CM took pride in announcing that Goa has the best fire-fighting services and training centre that other States are sending their personnel for training. The CM also said there is a proposal to set up a national disaster management wing across 25,000 square metres of property in Bardez.
While suggestions came thick and fast, along with plans, the focus on the issue was completely lost as everything connected to the fires appeared to be a work in progress. The investigations have not been concluded, the report was not out, the culprits were not identified, and there was no clarity on the way ahead if the situation repeats itself.
The cross-fire between the Opposition benches and the ruling was evident, as was the political target. If the agenda is to use issues to pick targets, then there is very little sense in holding extended sessions. The people of Goa want constructive and meaningful legislative functioning, less theatrics.
