PANAJI
Former State Information Commissioner (SIC) Adv Juino De Souza has said it is high time that Porvorim be declared as the Capital of Goa since all important institutions, including the Assembly Complex, are situated in Porvorim and more government offices are being shifted there.
Reacting to Panchayats Minister Mauvin Godinho’s suggestion to develop Porvorim as New Panaji, De Souza said if the intention of the minister is the development of Porvorim then he must persuade the government to declare Porvorim as the state capital.
“There is nothing remaining in Panaji to be developed as this city has reached saturation point and which is why government acquired huge tracts of land from the Serula Comunidade and shifted most government offices here.”
De Souza further said he was instrumental in arguing before the full Delimitation Commission headed by its Chairman Justice Kuldip Singh (retired Supreme Court judge) at its public hearing to retain the name of the constituency as Porvorim.
“I had convinced the Commission that the name ‘Porvorim’ has become popular by default. My arguments were accepted by the delimitation commission and in 2012, the assembly elections included Porvorim as the new constituency,” said De Souza, a social activist and former secretary of Porvorim Resident's Welfare Association (PRWA).
“Dayanand Narvekar, who at that point of time was an associate member of the delimitation commission, had sought to change the name of this constituency from Porvorim to Penha Da Franca and to include the saza of Reis Magos, while deleting Salvador-do-Mundo. This which was strongly opposed by me.”
De Souza said they had also opposed annexing of Porvorim to the Panaji municipality and the protests had resulted in a Porvorim bandh and the State government subsequently dropping the idea of annexation.
“Therefore, the question of changing the name of the constituency does not and cannot arise,” he added.
