The revelations have been made by the Opposition Congress party through documents availed from RTI. Monseratte had rightly said that since there was no clarity over teh Bill, it has to be delayed and passed in the next assembly, but the Chief Minister was adamant about clearing the Bill in haste.
The Opposition cannot shed crocodile tears now as they were the real culprits on that given day. Instead of walking out on D-Day, which seemed like a fixing, they should have cornered the Government then.
Coming back to Sawant rejecting a minister’s recommendations, it only proves how much weightage is given to the ministers and the bureaucrats in the decision making.
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkarponn
Amidst the criticism over the controversial Bhumiputra Bill, passed in the Goa Legislative Assembly last month, it has now come to the fore that Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant had ignored the suggestions of his own cabinet colleague Jennifer Monseratte and Revenue Secretary Sanjay Kumar.
The revelations have been made by the Opposition Congress party through documents availed from RTI. Monseratte had rightly said that since there was no clarity over the Bill, it has to be delayed and passed in the next assembly, but the Chief Minister was adamant about clearing the Bill in haste.
The Opposition cannot shed crocodile tears now as they were the real culprits on that given day. Instead of walking out on D-Day, which seemed like a fixing, they should have cornered the Government then.
Coming back to Sawant rejecting a minister’s recommendations, it only proves how much weightage is given to the ministers and the bureaucrats in the decision making.
Sawant has said time and again, and the people too have asked repeatedly if the Bill is for the benefit of niz Goemkars, then why have eligibility criteria of 0 years and not born by birth in Goa.
There is no denying that the Bill, which will be rechristened to some other name, will benefit migrants in slums.
The Chief Minister and Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho continuously have maintained that the structures in the slums would not be regularised.
If that is so, why does the Government not mention that clearly in the Bill. Why have the 30 years criteria?
Secretary Sanjay Kumar clearly said that due to a shortage of time, the Bill was not examined thoroughly and may have unforeseen wider ramifications.
“Hence considering the impact of the Bill, the same may be published for obtaining public comments,” he said.
The CM, having his eyes on elections, chose to ignore these recommendations, which could only spell doom for him and his party in the forthcoming polls.
The question now arises whether the decision to submit the Bill was his own or teh diktats of teh party? Who advised CM on the particular issue? Why did he not consider the pros and cons of passing such a Bill?
If such a bill becomes an act, isn’t it encourage more and more migration into Goa?
While the BJP was already losing popularity amongst the Goans, one opines this is a ploy to at least keep the migrants happy with the Bill granting regularisation to the illegal structures. However, in the bargain, Sawant is slowly losing the trust of local Goans more with such an action.
With elections just around the corner, this could be fatal for his party unless he repeals the Bill or makes necessary amendments to ensure that the regularisation and ownership rights are given only to Niz Goemkars.