Office of the Commissioner for NRI Affairs,
(Cabinet Rank Minister)
Government of Goa
July 1, 2010
Sir,
I have seen in your esteemed website a statement from Shri Aires
Rodrigues regarding the functioning of the Office of the Commissioner
for NRI Affairs. Aires Rodrigues had sought information from the State
Government on the functioning of the Office of the Commissioner for NRI
Affairs. This information was forwarded to him by the PIO (Public
Information Officer) of the Government of Goa. However, in the statement
to your website, Rodrigues has made false allegations, distorted part of
the information obtained by him and concealed the other part so as to
serve his defamatory purposes. Rodrigues stated that the expenses
incurred by the Office of the Commissioner for NRI Affairs were
exhorbitant. However, when this Office was created, the Ministry of
Overseas Indian Affairs had proposed in April 2006 to the State
Government a budget for this Office of Rs. 3 crores per year. When this
was brought to the notice of the Hon. Commissioner for NRI Affairs he
instructed the then Chief Secretary to reduce the budget to Rs.1 crore.
He also told the former Chief Secretary that a small office would be
sufficient for him. Hence this Office functioned from the inception with
just one officer. This officer himself retired more than six months ago
and this Office has since been functioning for the last six months
without a single full time officer. Rodrigues had sought and obtained a
list of the works done by this Office over the last four years but he
has concealed this information. The Office of the Commissioner for NRI
Affairs has achieved far more than any other similar Department in any
other State in the country, though its budget is a fraction of that
available in other States. Kerala is the only State where comparable
work has been done but there, several Government organizations are
involved in this subject and their budget is more than twenty times
larger than ours.
The enormous achievements of this Office within the rather short period
of four years is mainly due to the leadership provided by Hon. Shri
Eduardo Faleiro. Shri Eduardo Faleiro is the only person in the whole
country, all States and the Union Government included, who has a
previous experience of heading such a Department. Until 2004, when the
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs was created, the Department of NRI
Affairs functioned in the Ministry of External Affairs and Shri Eduardo
Faleiro was in charge of this Department during the two terms he was
Minister of State for External Affairs.
Complete information sought by Rodrigues from the State Government and
supplied to him by the PIO of the Government of Goa can be found at:
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2010-July/196039.html
You may like to publish it in your esteemed website so that your readers
have correct information on the subject.
This issues with the concurrence of the Hon. Commissioner for NRI Affairs.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Sd/-
(Rohit Ferrao)
Secretary
