Integrity Score 110
No Records Found
No Records Found
No Records Found
The Goa State borrows Rs 100 crore almost every week by selling bonds to run the Government. With elections just 5 months away, the government should have been focusing on revenue generation by bringing Goa's economy back on track, restart mining and promoting tourism. Instead the CM has announced that the Governor has approved his proposal to contruct a new Raj Bhavan or Governors Palace.
The previous Governor, Satya Pai Malik, had rejected CM Pramod Sawant's proposal for a new Raj Bhavan last year. The new Governor Sreedharan Pillai, while disregarding the rising fiscal deficit and State debt, approved the proposal.
The Raj Bhavan is one of the oldest Governor's Palace in India. It is located on a cape giving a panoramic view of Goas coast. The 88 acres estate built between the 16th and 17th century was once a fort, a convent, the residence of the Archbishop of Goa and the residence of the Portuguese Governors of Goa. It has practically all the amenities needed for a Governor of the tiny State of Goa such as a helipad, jetty, conference hall, banquet hall, luxurious bedrooms, gardens etc. Priceless antique furniture, chinese porcelain, chandeliers, etc decorate the interiors of the Palace.
So why does the Chief Minister of a debt ridden State heading the government of the right wing BJP Party and who belongs to the communal RSS want to build a new Raj Bhavan?
Anyone who belongs to the Hindutva Nationalist group RSS will surely despise living in a palace complex built by the Christian Portuguese, which also has a chapel, a british cemetery and several other objects that remind them of the Christian influence in Goa.
This could also be an election strategy to create a debate between Hindus and Catholics on whether Goa needs a Raj Bhavan with a Portuguese (Christian) legacy. Will Goans fall for it?
Ordinary Goans are too busy working or searching for a job to meet the high living costs in Goa rather than get involved in this RSS conspiracy. The cost of such vanity projects is just tiny addition to existing burden of state debt on their heads.