PANAJI
The new MGP-TMC collective has taken inspiration from the past to usher in the promised ‘new dawn’ drawing from the state’s first Chief Minister Dayanand Bandodkar’s populist legislations.
In a major joint announcement on Tuesday, top Trinamool Congress and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party promised 50,000 subsidised housing to Goan native homeless families and title and ownership of land under possession to tenants who have been living in Goa before 1976. The schemes will be implemented within 250 days of coming to power, according to the coalition leaders.
According to TMC national vice president Luizinho Faleiro, the decision once implemented would impact 60 per cent of the state’s population and added that would only account for 0.6 per cent of the state’s annual budget.
“Today, in the history of the state of Goa we are taking a very important step. This step will affect the lives of 60 per cent of the population of Goa. It will affect 2.1 lakh families in Goa,” Faleiro told the joint press conference.
Faleiro said that the announcement of the twin initiatives was made after consultation with social activists, economists and budget experts.
“Griha Laxmi card represents eight per cent of the budget, Yuva Shakti card represents four per cent and subsidised houses represent 0.6 per cent. In other words, if anyone wants to know, the various schemes which TMC has brought hardly affect 13.2 per cent of the budget,” Faleiro said.
“It will impact the lives of 60 per cent of the population of Goa. It will affect 2.1 lakh families in Goa. It is a landmark housing rights scheme that aims at securing the housing rights of Goenkars which is a constitutional duty of any government and is interpreted as a fundamental right under Article 21 (Right To Life) of the Constitution,” he said.
Faleiro also said that the TMC will operationalise pro-people legislations like The Goa Daman and Diu Agricultural Tenancy Act, 1964 and The Goa Daman & Diu Mundkars (Protection from eviction) Act, 1975 on the ground and take Bandodkar’s ambitions further while accusing governments who succeeded Bandodkar of trying to make his pet legislation toothless.
