AGNELO PEREIRA
MAPUSA
The State government may have launched the Goa IT Day with a lot of razzmatazz on Saturday and will launch the IT policy with bigger fanfare on Sunday.
But lest we forget, Goa had its first IT policy 16 years ago under the tutelage of Goa’s first IT Minister Ramakant Khalap in 2002.
Coincidentally, Manohar Parrikar was also the chief minister heading the first BJP-led government in the State in 2002.
The then government had formed an IT Council under the chairmanship of Dr R A Mashelkar, who was entrusted the task of creating the State’s IT policy.
The IT-Habitat, IT-Estate and Cyber City were the buzz words then, as the State government went all out to roll e-enabled services in the State.
“As per our plans, Goa was supposed to have its own portal and almost a paperless government. Everything could be worked through the computers. The governance was supposed to be from governor’s office to the office of the village panchayat, everybody working online,” Khalap, the then IT minister reminisced.
The State’s four pronged IT-policy envisaged e-education, e-enabled services, e-governance and broadband services to put Goa on the IT map.
The IT-Habitat was proposed to be set up in Dona Paula, but the plan fizzled out after then MLA Anatasio (Babush) Monserrate put his foot down opposing the project.
Similarly, the Cyber City project planned in Morjim plateau was stoutly opposed by former chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar and Congress politician Sangeeta Parab.
The IT Retreat Centre, which was meant to be an incubation centre at Mandrem/Harmal, also never took off.
Khalap disclosed that he had created Infotech Corporation, Infotech Council and Infotech Ministry and engaged the services of experts to prepare system requirement studies in the State.
He said all these reports were lying with the government.
“We missed the bus only because the government wasn’t cooperating. Nothing took off. Nothing was allowed to take off,” Khalap rued.
“All schemes were prepared, but remained unattended because finance wasn’t provided and therefore the policy could not be taken forward,” he added.
The former union minister wished the current government and the present IT Minister Rohan Khaunte all the best for his initiative to roll out a new IT policy in the State.
“It’s better late than never. But then, the present government and particularly IT Minister Rohan Khuante may also look back to what was done by me, and how whatever I proposed was opposed. Taking lessons from the past he should implement the whole policy as early as possible.
