Panaji will soon elect 30 new Corporators to the Corporation of City of Panaji (CCP). Under the current leadership, Goa’s capital city has only further decayed. Panaji’s infrastructure is crumbling, the solution to the garbage crisis is nowhere in sight while increasing number of stray dogs and cattle remain unattended. The poor state of the roads and traffic chaos is a constant reminder of the failure and incompetence of a CCP which has failed to punish those involved in the long-pending infamous multi-crore Panaji market scam. On the pathetic state of the market less said the better. The CCP has only merrily been giving licences for new high-rise buildings, but the problems that blight the once beautiful city of Panaji continue to fester and just get worse.
The Smart City promise is yet another illusory daydream and just one more window of opportunity for the self-serving and greedy ruling politicians. The irony is that when in opposition the current politicians now in the ruling party expressed grave concerns about the Smart City concept and its lack of transparency, but now when in power and having a duty to make good that promise, they are conveniently turning a blind eye and dipping their hands in the till.
At the Corporation of the City of Panaji and the other municipal councils there is no such mechanism in place to give the public a forum to seek accountability. The CCP meetings may be open to the public but this is meaningless as the citizens cannot participate in the proceedings. The CCP Act needs to be amended to ensure that all the development projects are placed for public discussion and scrutiny before being approved. The people have a right to be heard and should be empowered to decide the priorities in their respective wards. After all, it is a vital part of good governance in a democracy that he who pays the piper should call the tune and expect value for money.
