-------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Wishing all Goanetters | | a Prosperous | | and | | Happy New Year - 2006 | | Goanet - http://www.goanet.org | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Editor,
Chief Minister P.R. Rane's Cabinet has got it all wrong, once again. The Notification withdrawing some 24 villages from the purview of the PDAs is an indication of the shoddy manner in which Cabinet decisions are made. There is no rationale provided for the exclusion of these villages from the purview of the PDAs. Was this done merely to placate Ms. Victoria Fernandes and her constituents? What are the criteria for the inclusion of villages in the planning areas under the jurisdiction of the PDAs? The exclusion of some villages - and not others- from the authority of the PDAs appears to be highly arbitrary and irrational. It is like shopping in the market. You just pick up the best bargains. More fundamentally, the Rane Cabinet does not seem to have realized that the Planning and Development Authorities, per se, have been rendered redundant by the 73rd. and 74th. Amendments to the Indian Constitution. These amendments make it mandatory for the Government to devolve powers, functions and authority to the Local Bodies. Planning functions have also to be devolved to the Local Bodies. It does not make any sense whatsoever that only Taleigaon remains within the purview of the North Goa Planning and Development Authority, while all the other surrounding villages have been excluded. Is this, once again, done merely to placate the TCP Minister Atanasio Monserrate? What are the 'real' reasons for these inexplicable exclusions? It is time that Chief Minister Rane pulled himself up by his bootstraps and showed signs of rational governance instead of displaying his susceptibility to political pressures from his Cabinet colleagues. Averthanus L. D'Souza, D-13, La Marvel Colony, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004 Tel: 2451085 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Goa - 2005 Santosh Trophy Champions | | | | Support Soccer Activities at the grassroots in our villages | | Vacationing in Goa this year-end - Carry and distribute Soccer Balls | --------------------------------------------------------------------------
