PANAJI
The Congress on Saturday said the BJP government has been exposed for chaotic, anti-people, and crony-driven governance, citing the proceedings of the ongoing monsson session of the Goa legislative assembly.
GPCC president Amit Patkar said, mismanaged electricity sector. unfulfilled promise of Tuem Hospital, protecting substandard road contractors and the alarming rise in crime show that the state machinery under Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and his ministers is falling apart.
Citing responses to some LAQs during the assembly proceedings Patkar alleged that the Power Department has submitted inflated and incorrect figures which "don’t even add up properly".
"The government has no real plan to plug revenue losses but instead plans a punishing tariff hike that will hit the common Goan hard," Patkar said at a press conference he addressed alongwith other party leaders.
He alleged that homestays, villas, and rental apartments are permitted to do commercial business on domestic electricity slabs while ordinary citizens are being overburdened to subsidize this misuse.
He said the phase II tender of the Tuem Hospital has not been issued making it impossible to operationalise it anytime soon.
Patkar also claimed that the Chief Minister admitted that no contractor had been blacklisted despite countless cases of potholes and dangerous road conditions across the State. He also raised the issue of rise in crime rate but that the government was always in denial mode.
Citing Sawant's admission in the House during Saturday's discussion on a calling attention motion that crime has marginally increased, Patkar said it was nothing but an attempt to downplay the complete breakdown of law and order machinery.
"From murders and thefts to drug crimes and sexual assaults, Goa is seeing an alarming rise in criminal activities, while Sawant who is Home Minister remains silent and directionless," Patkar said.
He said the Congress demands that the proposed power tariff hike be rolled back and a crackdown on the misuse of domestic power connections for commercial operations.
