Two decisions on a manic Monday By choosing to unveil two crucial “decisions” on a single day — the day the SSC results were also declared — chief minister ManoharParrikar has demonstrated his penchant for strategy. Strategy is a politicians way out. As then leader of the opposition, Mr Parrikar was very much part of the BBSM that protested against the Congress decision to give grants to English medium schools. That he has had to implement the same decision in some measure, now that he is in a position of responsibility, is what gives the public its distaste for politics.
It is another matter that the much awaited “decision” on the medium of instruction for primary schools, which was expected to be a policy of sorts, turned out to be a “non-decision”. The onus of a final “policy” is now before a committee of educationists. The Diocesan schools who switched to English last year, have a breather, but for how long, no one is quite sure. And that is the one question the CM did not answer clearly. Will the grants to these 127 schools continue beyond academic year 2012-13? That will be the “decision” the committee is left to take. Committees can swing either which way depending on their composition and a host of political and other factors. So the final call on the medium of instruction imbroglio has been deferred yet again. The uncertainty will continue for some more time, which cannot be a good thing. That same Monday, interestingly, Mr Parrikar also chose to have an internal order, not a gazette notification, but an internal order —- passed on his earlier decision to announce a freeze on RP 2021. The long and short of the order, is that the new BJP government which had expressed apprehensions about RP 2021, has in a round about manner effectively put the RP 2021 into use for the moment, until a new plan is in place. It effectively means people can construct, but within the restrictions of RP 2021 and RP 2001. The positive aspects of both plans will hold for the moment. This has naturally come as good news to the Goa Bachao Abhiyan who held that the RP 2021 —- without the later controversial amendments added on by the state level committee, of micro industrialzones, eco tourism zones and golf courses —- was a good plan. It does not really matter which government is in power, if a plan is good, it must be used. All amendments made that did not concur with the participatory process that the plan went through should be scrapped. It is not clear if this will happen under the new dispensation, and a lot of crucial factors that were put forward in the planning process have been left vague by the Parrikar government. What will be the fate of the MIZs and eco tourism zones that had been objected to? Section 16 and 16 A amendments to the Town and Country Planning Act, that carried exemptions for government and PPP projects continues to be in force, creating a gaping loophole. Governments may argue that it needs some leeway in planning processes to take forward development. But as the SEZ experiments have proved, citizens are justified in their need to constantly hold projects, even government fielded projects, to scrutiny. To do so, government must be transparent. Internal orders, that are vague, peppered with words like “etc” leave too much open to “negotiation” and throw a cloak of secrecy over government functioning. The current order makes it clear that it will apply only until “further orders” are passed. There is already a subtle closing up and clamping up of the systems of governance. Surely gazette notifications are a preferable means of communication. Internal orders that would translate into far reaching ground level changes must be accessible to the press and the people. A government that has proclaimed “zero-tolerance to corruption” is duty bound to ensure transparency in all its dealings. http://oheraldo.in/newscategory/Edit/15