MAPUSA
The government’s ‘Sarkar Tumchea Dhari’ initiative may have been billed as an exercise in taking the administration to the people, but the packed hall at Saturday’s Bardez-level programme also offered a glimpse of the persistent problems citizens face in accessing government schemes and services.
Held at Pragati Hall at Bodgini under the ‘Seva Setu Sangam’ initiative, the programme saw Chief Minister Pramod Sawant interact with residents through a token-based system.
While government officials described the response as overwhelming, a substantial part of the interaction revolved around complaints over delays and hurdles in the implementation of the ‘Mhaje Ghar’ scheme.
Citizens raised issues relating to pending applications, document verification, mutation and delays at different levels of the administration. Complaints over water and electricity bills, roads, drains, municipal issues and matters concerning the Mamlatdar and Deputy Collector offices were also brought before the Chief Minister.
The programme, which was attended by Fisheries Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar, Deputy Speaker Joshua D’Souza, MLAs Michael Lobo and Delilah Lobo and officials from various departments, saw a large gathering of residents from across Bardez.
The visible mobilisation of people through local elected representatives and panchayat members was also evident at the event, with several political representatives accompanying constituents and groups from their respective areas. The gathering therefore had a distinctly political presence, even as the programme was presented as a direct interface between citizens and the administration.
Sawant later said he had interacted with more than 200 people and that several pending issues had been taken up for resolution. He said matters requiring longer follow-up would be dealt with through the Chief Minister’s Office.
‘Mhaje Ghar’ emerges as major pain point
The concentration of complaints around the ‘Mhaje Ghar’ scheme appeared to be one of the key takeaways from the interaction.
Citizens complained about delays in processing applications, repeated document verification and files remaining pending at different administrative levels. Sawant acknowledged that hurdles continued to affect the scheme and said the government would make necessary changes to address them.
The nature of the complaints raised questions about the gap between the government’s stated objective of delivering services at people’s doorsteps and the difficulties applicants continue to face within the administrative system.
A delegation of the Mapusa Traders’ Association also met the Chief Minister and submitted a memorandum on pending issues concerning traders. Residents from Nachinola, led by panch member Satish Govekar, submitted a memorandum raising issues related to the ‘Mhaje Ghar’ scheme.
For the government, the Bardez programme was the first such ‘Sarkar Tumchea Dhari’ exercise outside Sanquelim, where Sawant holds the programme regularly. The Chief Minister said the initiative was aimed at taking government services directly to citizens and ensuring that benefits reached the last person.
