Oh dears,
We must understand that Soter, my good friend, is wedded to the Panchayati
Raj. Therefore any dissent or questions raised against this solemnised
marriage brings- in self-defence bouts. Let my good friend deny what I
have boldly stated: That the existing Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 is a
piece of paper which is fit to be used for the clean-up job in the toilet
and not for GOA's clean-up. Let my good friend also deny my having told him
personally that the devolution of powers he is harping on vis a vis 73rd
and 74th constitutional amendments is a lot of HOG WASH. That he should be
gunning the Panchayat Act first to get it streamlined and then talk about
devolution of powers. The hyenas that have gotten fat in the panchayats
already, will be attaining SUMO Wrestlers' girth in no time if these powers
are devolved to them. (BTW. my good friend is giving a talk on Panchayati
Raj at Nachinola today. Hope he manages to convince Freddy Fernandes, the
Nachinola Panchayat DADA to go on a lean diet :-))
Soter should be more concerned of people like Fr. Maverick et al (the
Church) who are responsible for giving clear chit to the rogues in the
Congress, as if the crooked , corrupted and self-centered Congress is the
ultimate saviour Goa. The intelligent Goan public knows very well who is
'sleeping with the enemy', when and for what reason. The slip is longer than
the flowing robes. My good friend wants to take this as an accusation, then
so be it.
I want to know from my good friend and/or his acomplises who are brushing
shoulders with the Aam Admi Champion, if they have done any
of the following:
1. Tell the Aam Admi Champion that he should not be and cannot be the
chairperson of the Task Force.
2. That he should take out Datta Naik from the Task Force ( Datta Naik is
responsible to bring in the Aam Admi Champion out of the BJP because he
could not get his work done through MP or Babush Monserrate).
Let my good friend also say that the entire INTERIM REPORT OF THE TASK FORCE
is bad in taste. If so, how awful.
To me, all what I and the organisations that I am heading, including the
Goa Su-Raj Party, have been asking for, such as 'comunidades', 'mining'
'ground water preservation' , 'agricultural lands and agriculture etc etc
are very much included. I am additionally happy that the interim report
has voiced the apprehensions of the TF against the devolution of powers to
the Panchayats without tightening the belt.
There are some openly challengeable sections in the TF Interim Report which
are branded as Aam Admi Champion/Datta Naik's trade marks such as :
SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE (POLICIES AND SPATIAL CONTROLS):
4. The Governemnt should establish land estates on the lines of Industrial
Estates exclusively for building affordable houses. (this is camouflaged by
adding) 'The Government should also promote the foremation of housing
Co-operative Societies ( which already exists).
5. Comprehensive schemes for low cost housing need to be introduced
especially for migrant population who are an integral part of the society so
as to make Goa slum free ( this is the vote-bank charter and I do not know
how Dr. Oscar Rebello agreed to the inclusion of this. Migrant workers an
integral part of the society???, my foot - The Goa Su-Raj Road Map says
that Labour Contractors in Goa must set up all inclusive 'Labour Camps' and
dispatch the labourers to their home State the moment their 3, 6 month
contract is over).
6. The Government should provide land in major settlements in Goa at a
concessional rate to organised housing Industry (Datta Naik/Aam Admi
consortium at work here?) or the professional body i.e. CREDAI (
CONFEDERATION OF REAL ESTATE EEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION OF INDIA( more
specifically Datta Naik, GCCI ) Goa and make it mandatory to provide houses
for construction workers. ( look at the cheek)
7. Strong political will on part of Government and effective implementation
to enforce existing laws in order to stop building of illegal dwellingunits,
slums etc ( this infact is a googly to divert attention. There has never
been a political will to do this and never will be untill Goa Su-Raj takes
over).
In the
Follow-up work to be done: it says:
2. The Government should revisit its housing policy so as to:
b) Rationalize FAR's wherever required.
(If the FARs are down graded in the villages i.e. bring them down from 80%
to 50 percent or less, and increase the same in cities, this is
acceptable. )
Therefore, there are a few things in the TF Interim Report which are
self-interest googlies ( in konkani we say ' eoh tantun sirkaileat', but to
throw the baby out with the bath water is offensive. GBA should have been
more prudent than that. Plus, I am asking this very potent question and I
want my good friend to answer it, truthfully.
WHAT WAS THE HARM THAT WOULD BE DONE IF GBA HAD TO WAIT FOR ANOTHER FEW DAYS
FOR ITS CONVENOR TO WHET THE GBA'S SENTIMENTS? WHY THE HURRY??? ( This
clearly shows the proverbial 'slip' showing )
My good friend must realise one thing. If you want to reform the society,
then you should be able to cast the first stone. I asked my good friend to
contest Aldona seat against his professed enemy Narvekar on Goa Su-Raj
Party's ticket. He refused giving the specious reason saying that he has
given his word to the Peaceful Society that he will not contest. According
to me my good friend's Society is not Peaceful at all but full of torments.
It takes a cake that my good friend should accuse me as a politician who has
been compromised. I take exceptions to this. If my good friend wants to talk
sense with me, he is welcome. But I shall not tolerate loose mouths and
insinuations. BECAUSE, I am basically not interested to reform the goan
society. It is not my job and I have no time to spare. BUT I HAVE SHOWN THE
WAY and I am leading the way even if I have to walk alone. It is ' TAKE IT
or LEAVE IT' But unseen, there are a lot of people who have
fallen in line and are doing so. For it is sad, revolutions erupt on empty
and howling stomachs.
floriano
goasuraj
----- Original Message -----
From: "soter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2008 10:40 PM
Subject: [Goanet] Floriano's timely rumblings
Dear fellow Goans,
The seasonal moans and groans of Floriano over the recent developments in
GBA are to be expected. We cannot forget this weekend with Goans realising
how Fr. Maverick's remarks made in private got twisted out of context in
public. It's impact has been felt by the newspaper vendors with their
regular customers removing one publication from their order list. As usual
the compulsions of a politician like Floriano who carries the burden of a
political organisation cannot be expected to risk talking the facts these
days. The stakes are damn high and the exchange rates are booming as some of
the political party sponsors have gone in panic mode and are in a desperate
hurry to get the RP 2021 off the ground. Over night corruption seems to
have dissappeared in governance thus putting the Nitoll Jinn in a jinx. The
campaign by jagrut Goem against Taleban de Taleigao just yesterday has
sudddenly gone into cold storage last week. And we cannot forget that If
media persons can be hired to distort the facts and cast suspicions over
people's movements, it is not at all suprising that Floriano has
mysteriously forgotten about the then Convenor of GBA having swallowed his
own words a couple of days later and accepted the collective reservations
on the interim report. No one can overlook that one prudent Pradnya only
consults builders and officials to reach her conclusions in an article
claiming that Gram Sabhas have no powers to oppose mega projects. Now
vigorously agitating for devolution of powers also seems to have been
conveniently disowned by Floriano as it is no more beneficial these days.
Floriano bab forgets that Goa is a small place and so his neighbour's sound
system disturbs him into invoking the Madhya Pradesh Act and similarly
latest exchange rates get echoed at the tintos. Migrant settlers claiming
to be champions of the goan cause are also desperate to propagate that the
growing incidents of goans demanding their land rights are unconstitutional.
These are the days to make hay while the sun shines because tomorrow may be
a gloomy day with the effects of global warming on the goan people already
being felt by builders and migrants in the coastal villages.
-Soter D'Souza
