All eyes on South Goa Ministers, MLAs, MP at DPC meeting slated for Dec 13

Invitations sent; committee expects to put draft-district development plan in place

MARGAO
Will South Goa-based Ministers, Mauvin Godinho, Ramkrishna Dhavalikar, Subhash Shirodkar, Ravi Naik, Subhash Phal Dessai, Aleixo Sequeira, or for that matter Goa Legislative Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar and MLAs, besides South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha attend the South Goa District Planning Committee (DPC) scheduled at the Matanhy Saldanha Administrative complex on December 13.

For, the constitutionally-mandated DPC, South is meeting for the first time in nearly four years to prepare the draft-district development plan for South Goa and questions are asked in panchayat circles whether the Ministers, MLAs, besides the MPs will make their presence felt at the meet and lent their suggestions towards the preparation of the district development plan.

When the DPC was held last time in January 2020, then Minister Nilesh Cabral along with a couple of MLAs, including Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, Reginaldo Lourenco and Prasad Gaonkar had participated in the deliberations at the meeting chaired by then South Goa Zilla Panchayat Chairperson Navnath Naik in the Matanhy Saldanha Administrative complex.

It’s another matter that no demand for convening of the South Goa DPC had come from the current lot of Ministers, MLAs and MPs who are all members of the panel, in order to consolidate the annual development plans received from the panchayats, municipalities and the Zilla Panchayats and prepare a draft-district development plan.

The DPC is constitutionally-mandated to meet every year in order to consolidate the plans into a draft-district development plan and submit the draft to the government for allocation of funds.

“The DPC has sent invitations to the 20 MLAs from South Goa, some of whom are Ministers, besides the MPs, chairpersons of Municipal Councils and other members of the panel to attend the meeting on December 13. Let us wait and see how many of the Ministers, MLAs and MPs turn up for the meeting,” remarked a DPC member.

Incidentally, a couple of former South Goa Zilla Panchayat members, including Minister Subhash Phal Dessai, MLAs Reginaldo Lourenco, Anton Vaz, Ulhas Tuenkar, etc are all members of the Goa Legislative Assembly.

This is perhaps the first time that a serious attempt is being made to put the draft-district development plan in place for the financial year 2024-25. A similar attempt was made way back in 2013 and again in 2020, but the process could not be taken to its logical conclusion.

While the DPC has prepared a draft-development plan with the development proposals received from the Zilla Panchayat and village panchayats, sources said the final draft plans will be forwarded to the government after receiving the proposals from the remaining panchayats and the Municipal bodies.

Govt may have to allot Rs 120 cr to execute development plans

MARGAO: Guess the amount of funds government will have to allot to execute the development plans prepared by the panchayat bodies in South Goa “ a whopping Rs 120-odd crore.

In fact, estimates of the development plans received by the South Goa District Planning Committee (DPC) from the village panchayats and Zilla Panchayat has revealed that it may cost the exchequer a whopping Rs 120-odd crore to execute the project.

And, given that many a panchayat body and the municipal councils from South Goa are still to submit their development proposals to the DPC, it is estimated that the total cost of the development projects mooted by the local self-government bodies to the DPC may touch Rs 200 crore.

DPC sources pointed out that the development plans received from the Zilla Panchayat, panchayats and municipal bodies from South Goa will be consolidated into a draft-development plan for the district before it is forwarded to the government for implementation.

“The draft development plan will give an insight to the government on the developmental needs at the panchayat and municipality level. Accordingly, the government will have to allocate funds for the execution of the projects,” sources said.

South Goa DPC has met only 5 times in last 24 years

MARGAO: Guess how many times the South Goa District Planning Committee (DPC) has met to consolidate the draft-development plan for the district over the last two decades?

Strange it may seem but true that the DPC, South had met only five times in the last 24 years and the meeting scheduled on December 13 is the sixth meeting of the constitutionally-mandated DPCs.

The Zilla Panchayats were established in the State in the year 2000, but the first DPC was held way back in 2004 without transacting any business. Then came the second meeting seven years later in 2011, followed by the third meeting in the year 2013, but other than discussing the issue of logistics, these meetings had never consolidated any draft-development plans.

The fourth DPC meeting was held in October 2014 at the fag-end of the tenure of the South Goa Zilla Panchayat.

Incidentally, when the DPC had met at the last time in January 2020, the meeting could not kick start for want of quorum. In fact, members were on a virtual hunt to manufacture the quorum, with a member calling up Reginaldo Lourenco to come for the meeting.

If sources are to be believed, then Minister Nilesh Cabral had saved the day for the DPC as his presence helped to form the meeting quorum. MLAs Vijai Sardesai, Reginaldo Lourenco, besides then Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar had attended the DPC held in 2020.

All eyes on South Goa Ministers, MLAs, MP at DPC meeting slated for Dec 13

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