For far too long, Goa’s urban planning and traffic management have lacked coordination and spine. Encroachments go unpunished. Illegal rental operators thrive while genuine taxi owners suffer. According to SP Traffic Prabodh Shirvoikar, action was taken last year against 550 private vehicles operating illegally as rent-a-cabs, and reports were sent to the transport department for licence cancellations. That’s commendable. But how many licences were actually cancelled? Who were the owners? Were any of them politically connected?
This is the credibility problem the state administration must overcome.”
Junking Goa’s Streets: A Welcome
Crackdown or Just Cosmetic Clean-up?
On June 12, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant made a statement that should serve as a jolt to Goa’s vehicle-owning public—and perhaps even more so to the bureaucrats and law enforcers charged with keeping our roads in order. Vehicles found parked in the same public spot for more than eight days, he warned, will be considered abandoned and sent directly for scrapping, with no claims entertained thereafter.
That’s a bold move on paper. But as with many such declarations, the question remains: Is this a genuine push to reclaim our roads, or just another fleeting headline?
The reality on Goa’s roads is grim. A casual drive through Panaji, Margao, Vasco or Mapusa is enough to paint the picture. Rusting wrecks lie untouched on road shoulders. Two-wheelers covered in dust are chained to trees or telephone poles for months. Mini-buses, cabs, and trucks gather moss as they sit derelict along widened roadways, clogging lanes and making a mockery of traffic rules. These abandoned vehicles not only choke mobility, they also become breeding grounds for dengue mosquitoes, hazards for pedestrians, and—ironically—illegal hoarding spaces for some unscrupulous elements.
In this context, the Chief Minister’s claim that over 250 such vehicles have been seized in Panaji is not only welcome but long overdue. His announcement came during the inauguration of a new state-of-the-art Traffic Police Cell at Fatorda—a glimmer of hope that this drive is more than mere optics.
But bold declarations alone don’t clear roads. Enforcement does. The challenge now lies in executing this scrapping order fairly, consistently, and without political or bureaucratic interference.
For far too long, Goa’s urban planning and traffic management have lacked coordination and spine. Encroachments go unpunished. Illegal rental operators thrive while genuine taxi owners suffer. According to SP Traffic Prabodh Shirvoikar, action was taken last year against 550 private vehicles operating illegally as rent-a-cabs, and reports were sent to the transport department for licence cancellations. That’s commendable. But how many licences were actually cancelled? Who were the owners? Were any of them politically connected?
This is the credibility problem the state administration must overcome.
If Goa is serious about ridding its roads of abandoned junk and illegal operators, here are some immediate steps it must take:
1. Digital Inventory: Start by creating an open-access database of all vehicles identified as “abandoned,” including photos, registration numbers, and dates of notice. Let citizens verify, object or flag errors transparently.
2. Clear Due Process: Eight days may be too short for someone traveling abroad or hospitalised. Issue clear notices, and set up a simple grievance mechanism. We cannot trade chaos for injustice.
3. Neutral Scrapping Protocol: Engage neutral, registered scrapping agencies, and ensure all processes are video-documented. If you want the public to believe, make the system visible.
4. Crack Down on Departments Too: Many of the rusting wrecks belong to government departments themselves. Police jeeps from the 1990s, abandoned water tankers, broken-down ambulances—some are parked outside government offices. Begin the clean-up in your own backyard.
5. Rental Mafia Must Fall: Illegal private vehicles running as rentals have eroded Goa’s public transport trust. If 550 were caught last year, show us how many were penalised. Prosecute repeat offenders and blacklist them permanently. If the rent-a-car lobby has become lawless, it’s time to cut off their oxygen.
Goa is a tourism state. But the image of a modern, organised tourist destination cannot coexist with the sight of rusting Marutis, moss-ridden scooters, and half-burnt vans turning our roads into open graveyards of metal.
This isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s about safety, order, and accountability.
The Chief Minister has shown intent. SP Shirvoikar has highlighted past action. Now it is time for relentless follow-through—without political favour, without bureaucratic slumber, and without fear of backlash.
For far too long, Goa’s roads have borne the burden of our collective apathy. It’s time to return them to the people. Strip them of rust, of rot, and of the lawlessness that thinks it can park forever—both literally and metaphorically.
If this drive stays honest and fierce, it may finally unclog more than just traffic. It might unclog governance itself.
