On March 20th the voters of Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) which includes Ribandar will elect 30 new Corporators. Under the current leadership at the CCP Goa’s capital City has only further miserably decayed.
Panaji’s infrastructure is crumbling, the solution to the garbage crisis is nowhere in sight while increasing number of stray dogs and cattle has remained unattended. The poor state of the roads and traffic chaos is a constant reminder of the failure and incompetence of a CCP which has failed to punish those involved in that long pending infamous multi crore Panaji market scam. On the pathetic state of the market less said the better. The CCP has only merrily been giving licences for new high rise buildings, but the problems, that blight the once beautiful city of Panaji continues to fester and just get worse. The Smart City promise is yet another illusory daydream and just one more window of opportunity for the self-serving and greedy ruling politicians. The irony is that when in opposition the current politicians now in the ruling party expressed grave concerns about the Smart City concept and its lack of transparency, but now when in power and having a duty to make good that promise, they are conveniently turning a blind eye after now possibly dipping their hands in the till. At the Panchayat level, the gram sabhas enable the public to question and monitor the actions and misdeeds of their elected representatives. But at the Corporation of City of Panaji and the other municipal councils there is no such mechanism in place to give the public a forum to seek accountability. The CCP meetings may be open to the public but this is meaningless as the citizens cannot participate in the proceedings. The CCP Act needs to be amended to ensure that all the development projects are placed for public discussion and scrutiny before being approved. The people have a right to be heard and should be empowered to decide the priorities in their respective wards. After all, it is a vital part of good governance in a Democracy that he who pays the piper should call the tune and expect value for money. The thrust ahead should be towards Zero tolerance to Corruption and Nepotism at the CCP. Every citizen is entitled to transparency and accountability in respect of every paisa spent from the coffers. The fact that the CCP coffers are empty instead of overflowing is worrying and a matter of concern, warranting accountability. Aires Rodrigues Advocate High Court C/G-2, Shopping Complex Ribandar Retreat, Ribandar – Goa – 403006 Mobile No: 9822684372 Office Tel No: (0832) 2444012 Email: airesrodrigu...@gmail.com Or airesrodrig...@yahoo.com You can also reach me on Facebook.com/ AiresRodrigues Twitter@rodrigues_aires www.airesrodrigues.com