Governments may come and Governments may go but the man whois the flavor for all seasons is the Mormugao Planning and DevelopmentAuthority’s Member Secretary Rajinder Kumar Pandita. Pandita who has been inthe chair for almost half a decade has been the politician’s pal and thebuilder’s buddy. From Karl Vaz to Milind Naik, from Jose Philip D’Souza toCarlos Almeida, from Mauvin Godinho to Victoria Fernandes, Pandita was thefriend, philosopher and guide to everybody. But with the controversialconversion of Indian Navy’s land as Traffic / Parking in front of DabolimAirport, he has also emerged as the knight in shining armour for theGovernment. It is this conversion that saved the face of the Government. Hisproximity with Vasco builders including the one who surfaced as a member is legendary. A MPDA regular told PoliticalPatrao to make a mental note and watch this man out in the corridors of power.
The ‘Nav’ti that rowed out a Government from trouble
With L’Affaire Dabolim Parking warming up an unusuallycloudy winter, Political Patrao accidentally stumbled upon the Government’sother knight in shining armour. Additional Collector I (South Goa) NarayanNavti. Navti, the man who controversially included the Communidade of Chicalimas co-occupant in Indian Navy land 30 years after the land was acquired forthem is the new kid on the block who like Pandita has helped successfully usethe system to save the Government from High Court ignominy. Clearly whileParrikar may not have the gang of heavyweights as DIgambar Kamat to brainstorma deal for him, he has a few good men who know the ropes too well to help hisGovernment come up with solutions.
The Duo under duress
In a State where the Opposition did not exist tillyesterday, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardessai and Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco haveemerged as the perfect foil for Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. Taking on theState Chief, the duo carpet bombed the Government on its inaction regarding theDabolim Parking Land de-notification. But their guns suddenly went silent lastSaturday after The Goan exposed the new Government’s tactical step back on landre-notification and how Vasco’s most influential builder was behind the landdeal. Political Patrao was told by this little birdie in St. Cruz that theharried builder rushed to his mentor maker, former TCP Minister BabushMonserrate to impress upon the duo to desist from further sloganeering on theissue. The silence thereafter was deafening. In Goa, the heavyweights neverfade, do they?
Meanwhile in Dabolim…
Missing from the entire controversy has been Dabolim MLAMauvin Godinho. In fact, his absence from the political scene itself includingCongress Meets and interactions with visiting Congress heavyweights from theCentre is becoming noticeable. The fact that he is miffed with Congress is morethan known. Once a diehard Congressman his tactical silence on BJP is fastbecoming visible. It was Communidade of Chicalim, his friends forever thatfiled the application to be included in Indian Navy land. A move that gave theGovernment a chance to show alternative parking at Dabolim Airport. PoliticalPatrao wonders if this bailout is the next step for the former Congressfirebrand.
