The government has a law in place to extern history sheeters. However, they use the same to harass innocent people. Why have they not externed a single illegal massage parlour operator despite them using the same for prostitution? Then there is the mushrooming of illegal scrap yards allowed to sprout by bribe-taking rulers. The courts had to instruct them to act and not wait for citizens’ complaints. The MV Act philosophy must be used. Impose fines of Rs 50 lakh for all such illegal acts. Include illegal hill-cutting, construction in CRZ zones, filling of land, encroachments on Comunidade and government lands. Impose a fine of Rs 10 lakh on suppliers of earth-moving machinery for not checking availability of all permissions before undertaking the works. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Actually, this is overdue, and voters must put this mirror in front of their MLAs, especially those who ‘funded’ them. Why does the press not disclose the owners’ names? We want to know. This is the only way to control illegalities. Voters are waiting to see the true colours of the new faces.
Jobs for Goans or outsiders?
One party’s manifesto was about Goan jobs to outsiders. Yet, with the Governor stating in the Assembly that Mopa operations will commence in August 2022, none questioned how many Goans would be manning the same? The project had a provision whereby the ASDC-Aviation Skill Development Centre was to train locals in all ITIs in Goa. A sly government decree diluted this to training only within the Mopa boundaries. What were the placements done? The massive MV Act fines drew an impassioned sigh of righteousness from the Priol MLA: it will ‘save’ Goan lives! Now tell me, should not the new MV Act fines philosophy be replicated for other burning issues?
