On December 12, Goa will hold the needless and inconsequential Zilla Panchayat elections. In the midst of this worrisome pandemic with an average of 150 Covid-19 cases being detected daily, the government is endangering the lives of the polling staff and the public in general. The overstretched police force, which is bracing for next week’s visit by the President of India, will be also overburdened with these farcical elections ironically being held when Section 144 is invoked in the State.
The Government ought to have, in public interest, scrapped this unnecessary exercise and instead give more powers to the panchayats. A very small State like Goa does not need these powerless Zilla Panchayats which since its inception have been thirsting for power.
The cash-strapped Goa Government, which is borrowing money to tide up its expenditure, needs to ensure that every paisa from the State exchequer is spent judiciously. It is particularly appalling when expenses are recklessly incurred in non-priority areas. It is an irony that the State cries over lack of funds while at the same time we see very glaring unjustified expenditure.
For rationalization in government spending, strong and honest austerity measures need to be taken up at all levels and criminal waste of public funds strictly prohibited. The scrapping of the Zilla Panchayats would have been a step in the right direction.
