The current panel of the Corporation of the City of Panaji have practically stumbled across the finish line of their current tenure, which started in early 2011. For five years, Panaji has had four Mayors, a lot of small routine work completed, lakhs of income that wasn’t collected and still faces a lot of issues that were carried over from the previous dispensation, namely congestion, parking problems and poor garbage management, to name a few. With the elections due on March 6, the four Mayors gave The Goan Everyday their views on their own terms. All of them claimed to have completed work that they set out to do. They weren’t wrong. Some of them even got funds assured for
projects that eventually never saw the light of day as power
passed from one to the other. Five years after the last elections,
there will undoubtedly be citizens wondering whether their
votes have any power at all. It’s too early to pass judgement on
the future of the CCP and Panaji in turn. But, perhaps it’s time
enough to take stock of what has happened so far and who
and what missed the bus. All four
Mayors completed a lot of routine
work. Trucks for ferrying garbage
were purchased, as was one for
trimming trees and foliage. A garbage
cell was created, headed by a
co-opted member, and then subsequently
scrapped. Money was sanctioned
for beautifying gardens and
the area around the Panaji church,
cleaning up the St Inez creek and
more. Not everything happens. So,
in some cases, the money was sent back. Panaji even missed
crores in funds under the JNNURM scheme, which would have
given this city a massive boost. All this happened because of
poor planning and time management.
If one takes a look at Panaji now, apart from a few beautified
gardens and areas, the basic problems that existed in 2010-11
still do. There has been no breakthrough in traffic management.
The pay parking area in Patto is being used but at a negligible
rate, simply due to the lack of public transport to ferry
people into the city. A recent plan to turn many roads into one
way streets has succeeded in managing traffic to some extent,
but when one looks at the big picture, that success is minor.
Areas like 18 June Road and around Garcia de Orta are major
bottlenecks that need proper solutions. The poor management
in reconstructing the road from Miramar to Dona Paula has
only made matters worse. Rs 1.5 crore arrears have yet to be
collected from the Panaji market vendors, despite a court order
and a probe by the Public Accounts Committee.
All these failures do show the CCP in poor light, but there is
also a question of whether a rotating Mayor’s chair hampers
the cause to a large extent. Politics in the corporation is one
major obstacle to getting anything done, but when you have
mayors changing every year or so, all with different ideals
and projects in mind, nothing can get done. The ‘progress’
of the current CCP panel is evidence enough. Panaji has to
contribute over Rs 200 crore to the Smart City scheme. Where
is this money going to come from? The CCP certainly needs
to fight for more autonomy from the local MLA and government
in running this city. But, the rotating chair is probably as
effective as shooting oneself in the foot.
