----- Original Message -----
From: floriano
To: Navhind Times
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 7:15 PM
Subject: NT- Editorial Article - Power to the People - The great Goan
Illusion- COMMENTS
The Navhind Times
View Points
GOA AND GRAM SABHAS
Power to the People: The Great Goan Illusion
ODYSSEY
People must freely express their views. And government must respect their
views and revise its policy and decisions accordingly.
By: Arun Sinha.
Comments:
Dear Mr. Sinha,
Greetings,
The Odessey (No.2) is a nice try. However it has its flaws.
Agreed that too many cooks spoil the soup. This has been the legendary
understanding of all times. But there must be a reason why so many cooks
take on themselves to set the menu in the first place. What happened to the
master cook?
Could it have been that mum ( as you put it) never did get a suggestion or a
critique on the way each day's menu was prepared? Did mum take the family
members, or their collective taste for granted?
Could it have been that mum dished out the same monotonous menu day in and
day out considering that there was no complaint, not a 'come on mum! What's
this that we are getting every day'? ... nothing?
Could it have been that mum was preparing the meals, the most easy way
out?... the same fare every day?
I believe that there is something like the MENU. Mums must know what to put
into the frying pan, when and how. At times, I have revolted with certain
dinners that my wife (not my mum J ) has put on my plate. Revolted silently
by picking here and there from the plate and returning the plate as it is
( not by throwing the plate out of the window). Next day , many a times, I
have done bags full of shopping on my own thereby giving the signal to my
wife... "Hey! Tell us what you need. We are here, you know??" "Just
because you are in charge of the kitchen and the grocery store, and just
because we are not vocal about what is on the plate does not mean that you
have to turn out monotonous menus"
I agree with you that planning has to be left to the experts. But people,
who are the end users of that planning are watching things silently. And the
saturation point comes when the plate flies out of the window one fine day.
This is exactly what is happening in Goa today. Gram Sabhas which were
silent or not interested even, have taken up the cudgels with the powers
that be because they have been taken for granted for far too long. First of
all, you go on amending the Regional Plans and the ODPs of cities and towns
on daily basis as according to the whims and fancies of the Town & Country
Planning Minister, whoever it is. The Regional Plan and the ODPs are
supposed to be planned documents, sealed and delivered, the day these are
notified. Absolutely no changes are allowed or to be entertained during
their implementation period which is normally a ten year period. Any changes
that are necessary to be taken up will go down as part of the planning
process for the next ten year period. In simple words, the documents are
planned documents for a sealed period of time and since these are planned
documents, these cannot be found wanting ( except in case of emergencies
like earthquakes, Tsunamis etc, the unforeseen natural calamities).
RP-2011 was scrapped because the people saw through it as a non-planned,
devastating document. How come then its provisions (mega projects) are still
coming alive? These should have been dead with the scrapping of RP-2011.
What the people want is that the responsible government must plan for them
in the most diligent manner because they are paid to do just that. Ordinary
people do not want to interfere with the planning process because it is a
complicated one which they do not understand. But they would like to know
what is planned for them. Their venom, if any, will disappear by the very
fact that the experts want to share with them their imaginations. But what
the people has begun to notice is something very strange and shocking. It is
like, though they are invited for the fabulous hundred course banquet,
there is absolutely nothing but left-overs remaining on the tables when they
arrive, every thing having been eating by the cooks themselves, their kit
and kin, their cronies and what have you.
The uproarious gram sabhas are exactly and rightly the protests for this
act of commission and omission on the part of the powers that be. They want
the full laid out banquet which has been prepared for them, waiting for
them, hot and served, when they arrive to partake in it.
I will want to give you an idea as to what happened yesterday (11th August,
2008 ) at Benaulim. The people, the gram sabha had passed resolutions to
revoke licences of a couple of mega projects because of the gross anomalies
under which these were given permission to by the Panchayat. The Sarpanch
dilly-dallies with these resolutions. Even the South Goa Advocate's
Association is believed to have stated that Gram Sabhas have no powers,
where as the Supreme Court of India has ruled that Gram Sabhas are supreme.
Very logical this, since electors are always supreme in the same manner that
the invited guests for the planned banquet are supreme. not the cooks. Going
further, the Director of Panchyats (the cook in this case) informs the
Panchayat to issue permission to these mega projects in question, that these
cannot be held back. The Sarpanch calls the Benaulim people through church
announcements for a dialogue... to absolve the panchayats actions vis a vis
the Dy. Director's instructions. When I was contacted to inform me that the
panchayat has been forced to issue the permissions, my advice to the
Benaulim people was the following incase they wanted to go by it.
1. Gram Sabha resolutions are supreme.
2. The Panchayat cannot over-ride these resolutions.
3. To obey the instructions of the Dy. Director of Panchayats to issue the
permissions would go against the Panchayat.
4. The only option the Panchayat has is to respect the Gram Sabha
resolutions and disregard the Dy. Director's instructions.
5. To do this the entire Panchayat must resign, if it is with the people.
6. Let the Dy. Director issue the permissions.
My further advice to them was to force each and every panchas to resign if
they were seen to be supporting the mega projects (for obvious reasons) just
like the people of Khorlim forced their panchas to resign over the allotment
of shops to their kit and kin. To pass a resolution that the people of
Benaulim have lost faith in the Panchayat Raj System as a whole and that the
Entire Panchayat Raj System must be disbanded, SCRAPPED from the face of
Goa, since it is the single most corrupted Act in force which divides the
people rather than uniting them for Goa's sustained development.
Or ,
Until the cooks who are managing the Panchayat Raj Act remain cooks and the
people for who they are cooking remain the welcomed guests.
So, you see Mr. Sinha, it is not that the people of Goa are divided over
what sort of development should take place. The people of Goa have revolted
because there is NO SYSTEM followed in the governance that is dished out to
the people.
To sum up the above, the people of Goa have been reduced to the status of
the 'Dog in the Manger' of late. If they cannot have their bone, they will
not allow the master to have his feast.
floriano
goasuraj
www.goasu-raj.org
