MARGAO
While instability and musical chair games marked the politics in many a panchayat body within and outside Salcete, sarpanchas of Cavelossim Viola Da Costa, Gaudencio Luis (Orlim), Deepak Kharangate (Paroda), Frank Fernandes (Navelim) and seasoned player Joseph Vaz (Rachol) managed to hold on till date.
Ask them, and there seems it's magic or mantra, which helped the five village heads to preside over the affairs of their respective panchayats during the current term. With the numbers on their side, they all claim that they managed to take everyone along in the journey which they undertook five years ago with cooperation of the members.
Says Navelim Sarpanch Frank Fernandes: “In Navelim, the panchayat members functioned like a family by respecting each other. No decision was taken without taking the members into confidence. We never discriminated against the opposition panchas and we made it a point to treat everyone equally."
His Paroda counterpart, Deepak Kharangate echoed similar sentiments. “We never worked as ruling and opposition members when it came to the development and interest of the village. The limited resources were spent in all the wards without any discrimination," Deepak said.
Rachol Sarpanch Joseph Vaz is not a stranger to panchayat politics. He had presided over the village affairs twice in the past before assuming the post during the current term after he got a 3-2 majority in the five-member panchayat body. “No doubt, there’s been discussions and debates amongst the members, but everyone worked in the interest of the village. I had no problem with my colleague members though there were differences, but we did not discriminate against anyone," Joseph said.
His Cavelossim counterpart Viola Da Costa said she did not face any instability during her tenure as she functioned with the cooperation of the members. “We all worked together and the occasion did not arise for any member to ask me to step down. We tried to usher in development in all the wards without any discrimination," Viola added.
Orlim Sarpanch Gaudencio Luis is another sarpanch from Salcete's coastal belt, who has held the reigns of office since the 2012 May election. “We worked as a team in the interest of the village. Members shared a close rapport and may be Orlim is the only panchayat in Salcete where the panchas along with the staff organised the annual picnic and a get together," Luis said, adding that stability helped the panchayat to take up development work.
Did these five sarpanchas ever face the question of rotating the chair amongst the members, which is fast becoming a norm than an exception at the grass-root local self-government bodies? Orlim Sarpanch Gaudencio Luis informed that he had put in his papers mid-way through the term to make way for another to take over the reigns. “I quit office in order to honour the word given to the member, who was supposed to succeed me. But, since he refused to accept the offer, there was no option for me than to return back to the saddle," Luis said.
Sources in the know said that though there were some unwritten agreements on the rotation of the chair in respect of Cavelossim and Paroda panchayats, the rotation did not take place to the changed political circumstances.
