Goa's majority voters are corrupt and greedy. Unless these voters change, nothing will change in Goa.
Cip ----- Original Message ----- From: Aires Rodrigues <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2011 10:25 AM Subject: [Goanet] GOA DESPERATELY NEEDS A LOKAYUKTA Goa’s top most priority should be the setting up of a Lokayukta to curb the prevailing rampant corruption that has become the biggest obstacle to the State’s overall development and prosperity. In Goa the menace of corruption is a glaring reality. Corruption has infiltrated the grassroots. The Panchayats and Municipalities have also become hot beds of this menace. About the Corporation of City of Panaji the less said the better. The Campal – Miramar road was hot mixed in May this year. In just three months the number of pot holes are galore. We have to pay the price of a bumpy ride due to the percentage of kickbacks that have gone to the authorities. Chief Minister Digambar Kamat’s assurance that the Lokayukta bill would be introduced in the next session of the Goa Legislative Assembly is just one of those many promises the Chief Minister has made over the last four years. Digambar Kamat knows very well that with a Lokayukta in place most of the current Ministers and possibly himself along with some MLA‘s will be cooling their heels in jail. What a respite it would be for Goa and Goans. Just how serious our Chief Minister is on corruption can be gauged by the manner in which he is dealing with the professional misconduct by the Advocate General of Goa Mr. Subodh Kantak. He is just sitting on the file despite the complaint against Mr. Kantak having been forwarded to the Goa Government by the Bombay High Court. Mr. Subodh Kantak had also appeared in the High Court on 27th January 2006 in a batch of Saleli bail applications of 102 accused where the Advocate General raised a bill and was paid 102 times Rs 8000 i.e. Rs eight lakhs sixteen thousand. Factually, it was a common argument for the whole batch of bail applications and Advocate General Mr. Subodh Kantak should have claimed only Rs 8000/-. If that was not corruption, what was it? The Lokayukta should cover every authority possible. All NGO’s and religious institutions too should be made accountable to ensure transperancy. The Right to Information Act has been acting as a powerful weapon to unravel and expose corruption. There are however various attempts to circumvent the RTI Act whereby politicians are already considering modifying the act to escape its ambit. Most of Goa’s ministers and many MLA’s are totally unconcerned with the problems of the Aam Aadmi. They are just too busy fleecing the rich and trying to get rich themselves in any shape or form possible. But then it looks like Goans also don’t really care. We keep electing the very same people who are responsible for taking this State down the drain. Public funds and government machinery should not be misused for one’s personal benefit. One should not wine, dine and make merry at the cost of the State exchequer. In one way or the other it is all Corruption. The Anti- Corruption branch at Goa’s Vigilance department is headed by Mr. Bosco George who is also the ADC to the Goa Governor. A talented police officer’s time is being wasted at the Raj Bhavan. We cannot afford to have a part-time Superintendent of Police to combat large scale full time corruption. That it is not serious in tackling corruption is evident that there is no DySP or PSIs assigned to that office. It is just a part-time SP and one police Inspector entrusted the job of combing the entire jungle of corruption. While we wait for the Lokayukta, the Anti- Corruption Branch should be fully staffed and allowed to function freely and independently by designating Mr. Bosco George as the full time Anna Hazare heading the crusade. His job would be much easier if Chief Minister, his cabinet colleagues and all the MLA’s publicly pledge not to accept any further bribes and kickbacks. A similar commitment would have to be made by the heads of all departments. And this will have to be a pledge they all live up to. There needs to be a sustained and determined battle against corruption. Only God knows where and when this long journey against corruption will end. Aires Rodrigues T1 - B30, Ribandar Retreat Ribandar - Goa - 403006 Mobile: 9822684372
