PANAJI
In one of many initiatives started by the government, the setting up of Nation First Policy Research Centre (NFPRC) in Goa was a recent entrant getting approval six months ago. But, the proposal was ironically given a nod by the State government days before it was officially placed for consideration.
The Pramod Sawant-led cabinet on June 9, 2022, held a press conference announcing approval of the proposal. The records however state that the proposal was accepted in principle on May 27, 2022, when in fact, it was submitted only on June 3, 2022.
“Considering the glorious experiences of NFPRC in the similar fields which can be seen at RHS (C-11 to C-19) and in order to achieve optimum impact and to ensure properly focussed monitoring, the Government has agreed in-principle to accept the above proposal in a meeting held on May 27, 2022 under the chairmanship of The Chief Minister,” reads a government noting.
The NFPRC has indicated an amount of Rs 29.56 lakh in addition to GST as the project cost to be paid in a suitable installment.
What’s shocking is that the Finance Department decided to distance itself from the matter as a subsequent official communiqué states, “…Since the proposal already stands approved by Council of Minister, FD has no role in the matter and file may be returned to the department.”
The proposal titled ‘Proposal Management Unit to track department-wise progress on promised projects,’ speaks about setting up of a performance management unit in Goa in order to track and measure the implementation status of the projects taken up by the State government.
The NFPRC has further intended to set up a War Room under the aegis of the Chief Minister Office (CMO) to execute infrastructure projects on mission mode besides evaluating performance, executing impact and communicating & disseminate progress to all concerned departments with complete transparency and rigour and to measure the performance of various departments responsible for the initiatives planned/undertaken on monthly basis.
It was in August that the Directorate of Planning and Statistics, Government of Goa signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Centre as it also maintained that this initiative will help in identifying, and implementing the programmes and schemes - started by the Central government in the State - in a better manner.
