https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/another-nail-in-state-capitals-coffin/articleshow/65465019.cms
Some black humour derives from Panjim’s ranking of 90th out of 111 cities across the country in the Ease of Living index released last week by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). The leading public policy expert, and Director of the Takshashila Institution (who has ancestral roots in Goa), Nitin Pai ruefully joked on Twitter, “This is great news. Now let’s hope that people migrate to these cities instead of moving in large numbers to Difficult to Live cities. /sarcasm.” In other words, if the shameful ranking has a positive side effect, it might be less demand from migrants and tourists, thus alleviating the crushing numbers exacerbating the problems confronting the once-lovely capital city of India’s smallest state. But why Panjim ranked so poorly is no laughing matter. This new index - outstandingly well-conceived by minister Hardeep Singh Puri – reveals shockingly comprehensive mismanagement. Across 55 “Core indicators” and 22 “Supporting Indicators”, we see the state capital in catastrophic decline. When it comes to Housing Inclusiveness, it is the worst in India, scoring zero (Ghaziabad scored the highest). In the vital category of Mixed Land Use, it earned the lowest possible number, 0.01 (Greater Mumbai scored 4.75 out of 5). Water supply, transportation, unemployment. In each of these, there is evidence of an overwhelming crisis. Not only is Goa’s precious flagship way behind other cities in India, it is still falling fast to even worse. That alarming nosedive is also reflected in the Swacch Sarvekhshan 2018 report. Here the MoHUA assesses India’s cities on cleanliness, based on 19 indicators. In 2016, Panjim earned an already worrisome but still somewhat respectable 16th place ranking (out of 500 cities). But in 2017, for the multitude of reasons any city resident could list from experience, it plummeted to 90th place. Now really rapid deterioration. No one can be surprised the latest report released last month finds Panjim the 155th ranked city in terms of cleanliness. We are experiencing an historic tragedy, for which future generations will know precisely where to lay the blame. Successful administration, wherever it has occurred in the world, is all about accountability. The fatal flaw in Goa’s polity is its absence. In some fundamental ways, democracy has been rigged. Much of the system of state is subverted to serve the flourishing of outright criminal enterprise. Crucially, there is no oversight. At this very moment, even as Panjim slumps straight into the gutter, the allegedly responsible authorities kite-fly an extraordinary array of ludicrous nonsense: multi-million dollar ropeway to nowhere, fanciful RFID-tagged garbage bins, absurdly expensive digital video cameras on every lamp-post. Such a range of unbelievably wasteful stupid ideas, being sold most cynically under the label of smartness. Will this outrageous heist take place unchecked? The record indicates it probably will. Here it is useful to review the unbelievably long string of lies, reversals and u-turns that have taken place since casinos were first allowed an extension of their supposedly temporary moorings in the Mandovi river. That initial act of leeway has given way to an unmitigated farce, from broken election promises to an unending string of broken deadlines. The casinos stayed, they multiplied, and have now become much bigger than they were before. They are a law unto themselves, without any kind of regulatory mechanism in place. Now the city administration seems to have abdicated the entire waterfront to them, only reluctantly taking back some encroachments after public protests. This week on Independence day, a perfect snapshot of what has happened to Panjim. The main flag ceremony was opposite the Old Secretariat, where the tiranga was first raised in 1961. But now the backdrop signage is all winking foreign women, and a neon-lit reminder that everything is for sale.