Lion Roars-4 HITS: 48May 6-12, 2013Eternal damnationHere is another festering sore of a tale to tell. A rich Delhi honcho is building his Goa abode on a road widening area in Cobra vaddo in Calangute, right in front of Our Lady of Piety Chapel where parishioners pray. The site was inspected by the Public Works Department (PWD) on April 9, 2013. The Town and Country Planning Department (TCP), Mapusa issued him an NOC on March 6, 2007 (DB/21628/07/705) to build what may be a residential house. The corrupt and truly morally bankrupt Village Panchayat (VP) of Calangute issued him a construction license on March 10, 2007 (VP/CAL/F-13/06-07/L/3914) and later renewed it on February 7, 2013 (VP/CAL/F-13/12-13/R-16/6302). Since the VP issued its license in exactly five working days from the date the TCP issued its NOC, I checked the March 2007 calendar and discovered March 10 was a Saturday, and March 6 was a Tuesday, that is, five days including the Sunday holiday!The PWD minister Ramkrishna Dhavalikar says the construction is illegal and that “punitive action must be taken against the authorities who approved the plans and issued the construction license”. This was said in a written answer in the just concluded Legislative Assembly session, which means the battle against the Delhi honcho has been taken to the next level. That is why the PWD which is an interested party conducted the April 9 inspection. The problem is who will bell the cat, because there is big money to be made and in fact, the hat as you might have guessed has already been passed around.The former MLA Agnelo Fernandes had stopped the construction after the chapel priest and parishioners asked him for help. Later however, a woman panch Annie Coelho, who first opposed the construction, switched sides and supported the illegal construction. Her husband Edward Coelho who was the petitioner in a court stay order that was obtained also withdrew from the case, though the parishioners through one of their members were able to intervene in the court soon after.In the meanwhile, the Calangute BJP MLA Michael Lobo and his sidekick Joseph Sequiera are supporting the illegality according to the parishioners. Sequeira if you have not been reading this column has manipulated each and every Calangute VP election since the late Eighties and has influenced every decision taken by the ruling combine. No construction license in fact is issued without his tacit approval. The chaplain meanwhile continues to preach every Sunday against the perpetrators. But, as it happens in Goa, the meek have no place on this earth. Which is why, Parrikar’s decision to tax people who buy second homes in Goa is an excellent idea indeed. Goa badly needs the money and at the very least that would be compensation for its citizens who can’t seem to get justice unless and until, they put up a strong resistance. And then, as it happens so often, the battle becomes……..Goan vs GoanAkhil Gupta and others (his wife's family) are the members/partners who bought just six apartments from Maurice Pinto, a resident of that area, and converted them into a 30 room hotel called Baga Residency. This could be achieved thanks again to Calangute’s de facto sarpanch Joseph Sequeira. Gupta then bought another hotel from a Virani in Gaura vaddo Calangute near Sequeira's house and named it Royal Park Resort. Other hoteliers (those who stay within the law) say Gupta pays greedy taxi drivers a hefty commission of Rs 1,500 rupees to bring tourists to his hotels. They say tourists got in this manner are charged a room tariff of Rs 7,000 (as an example) for the first night, but get a Rs 1,500 discount in the room tariff from the following day onwards. This of course is standard practice in Goa and cab drivers are paid a hefty commission across the board in the tourism industry, from exclusive cashew nut/liquor vendors, restaurants to hotels, big and small.Emboldened by Sequeira’s support (to the extent Sequeira had words with at least one of the parishioners opposing the sale) Gupta next started making abortive efforts to buy the volleyball ground near the chapel, and therein lies another sordid story of greed. So, keep reading this column.Earlier, when the chapel parishioners along with Edward Coelho and Annie Coelho protested, the Block Development Officer issued a stop notice for the illegal construction. Following more pressure from the parishioners, the TCP also withdrew the NOC it had issued earlier. But in the March 2012 elections Annie Coelho crossed over to the Sequeira camp and Gupta restarted work on his construction.Government on a car chaseResearching on the past for this column, I have often discovered that the government’s general administration department (GAD) is the biggest buyer of cars for the bureaucratic and political class to be driven around. They also buy big and expensive. Between March 23, 2012 and September 28, 2012, GAD bought seven Toyota Innova’s at a total cost of Rs 80,93.372.
