Goa to probe if excessive mining causing cracks in houses
http://india.nydailynews.com/business/2a4d242da0053ff9a277ff4e12bdc865...
Thursday, July 26th 2012, 07:21 AM
 
Panaji, July 26 - After cracks developed in land and houses of a town in Goa, the state government has suspended mining in the area and ordered a detailed investigation to see if excessive mining caused the damages, a minister said Thursday.

In a written reply tabled in the Goa legislative assembly, Revenue Minister Francis D'Souza said that cracks had developed in the land and houses located within the municipal area of Barajan Nagar in Bicholim, 35 km from here. It has a population of 15,000.

The minister said mining in the area has been suspended and the Goa government has ordered a probe into phenomenon.

"The site was inspected by a team of officers headed by the deputy collector and sub-divisional officer and comprising of officials from the director general of mines safety, water resources department, police and Sesa Goa Corporation," D'Souza said.

"The report of deputy collector suggested stopping the mining activities in the said area until detailed investigations are carried out by expert agencies such as Geological Survey of India and the same is under consideration of the government," the minister added.

Excessive mining near habitation areas and transportation of ore through populated regions over the last few years have resulted in a sustained conflict between civil society on the one side and administration and the mining industry on the other.

Goa exports over 50 million tonnes of ore annually. According to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, 40 out of the 100 odd operational mines are functioning illegally.

IANS

Goanet Reader: Affordable housing: no easy way out over a vexing problem (Eduardo Faleiro)
Eduardo Faleiro | loksevagoa@gmail.com

There is a genuine concern in Goa about the non-availability of land to the sons of the soil, particularly those belonging to the lower and middle income groups. In Panjim and some other areas, the cost of land may go up to Rs 100,000 per square metre and in Salcete, Bardez and Tiswadi no land below Rs. 2000 per square metre is available except perhaps in some very remote areas.

The Supreme Court of India has pronounced in several judgements that the State has a duty to provide adequate facilities for shelter to every citizen so that the fundamental right to life is meaningful. In Goa, a special provision under Article 371 of the Constitution was sought for this purpose. Neither the Union Government nor the main Opposition Party agreed to the demand. However, the State Government itself can take several measures to provide affordable housing.

Why are prices of land so high in Goa? One of the reasons is the large scale purchase of land by outsiders. In July 2007, Government disclosed in our Legislative Assembly that as per the records of the Land Registrar, 562 foreigners from 27 countries had bought 21.44 lakh sq mts of land in Bardez
taluka during the previous three years.

In Salcete, within the same period, 482 foreigners from 22 countries purchased 12.44 lakh sq mts of land. Most of the other talukas have witnessed a similar sharp rise in the number of foreigners buying land in Goa. Morjim is now known as 'little Moscow' and Arambol might well be named 'little
Tel Aviv'.

According to RBI guidelines, foreigners can acquire immovable property in India only if the concerned individual has established a place of business in this country according to FERA or FEMA, the property is necessary to carry such business and all applicable laws, rules, regulations and directions have been duly complied with. It is reported, however, that many foreigners evade these requirements.

The National Security Council Secretariat has cautioned that real estate projects by foreigners in Goa might include drug trafficking, gun running and prostitution and that some foreign drug cartels are attempting to turn Goa into a base for their activities. Government should scrutinize all land deals by foreigners and if they find any illegality, confiscate the property and impose punishment on the offender and his local associates, if any.

The economic benefits as well as the social costs of tourism need to be evaluated. It is necessary to formulate a development strategy which provides employment to our people whilst being less dependent on tourism.

Another reason for the high cost of land is inadequate implementation of the Industrial Policy. According to the Goa Industrial Policy, "the mission of the Industrial Policy is above all to create sustainable employment for the local youth in the State". This does not appear to have been achieved to any significant extent, though large tracks of land and other facilities are provided to industries.

Information Technology enterprises seem to be the most suitable for the youth of Goa in view of the rather high literacy rate in this State. IT industries require smart work rather than hard physical work. These are the industries of the Knowledge Society and they will continue to grow.

Affordable housing is a most important concern across the world. Planning mandates in the United Kingdom have generated 20 to 30 percent of all affordable units built over the last decade. South Africa distributes free plots for houses to its poorest income group. Singapore provides public housing for more than 80 percent of its population.

In India, in Rajasthan for example, the State Government makes available thousands of houses as well as plots to people belonging to different income groups. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has proposed that the statutory right to shelter should be included in the forthcoming Five Year Plan.

In Goa, an Action Plan needs to be drawn to provide affordable housing to the average Goan. It will require an efficient Housing Board, interest rate subsidies and other financial devices to make housing affordable to all.

(The writer is a former Union Minister).

Goa will not get power from Kaiga, says Manohar Parrikar
TNN Jul 28, 2012, 04.35AM IST

Porvorim: Chief minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said that Goa will not get power from the Kaiga nuclear plant at Karwar, even as he said two companies have approached the government to set up a gas-based power plant in Goa.

Power minister Milind Naik said the government intends to undertake underground cabling in the state at the cost of 20,000 crore over the next five years.

Intervening in the discussion on demands for grants, Parrikar said that Goa is a member of the western grid and Kaiga is in the southern region. "Hence, Goa will not get power

The Kaiga issue was raised by Dabolim MLA Mauvin Godinho, who wondered why Goa is not getting power from the nuclear station when it is so close to Goa. He said that the state government should approach the Centre on the grounds that Goa would be a casualty if there is an accident at Kaiga.

On the gas-based power plant, Parrikar said that one company has approached him while the other has indicated to the department that they're ready to set up the plant. "We'll have to see who can give us the cheapest power," he added. He was referring to the project of Gail which will come up in Sancoale.

The power minister, Naik, said that underground cabling would be taken up on priority in coastal areas and towns including Porvorim. Stating that the cost would be around 10,000 crore, he said that if the state goes in for dedicated trenches, the cost will double.

Members cutting across party lines drew the attention of the government to the electricity department issuing bills after 3-4 months. The minister said that there is shortage of meter readers.

Others in the house too said that the government has failed to detect power theft, especially in Cuncolim and Kundaim industrial estates, by power guzzlers. One MLA demanded insurance to people whose domestic appliances get burnt because of voltage fluctuations. Aldona MLA Glenn Ticlo demanded a 24-hour complaints section. Members also said that when lights go off, the department phones either kept off the hook or are found busy.

To a query from Nuvem MLA Francisco 'Mickky' Pacheco regarding recruitments just before the election code came into force, the power minister agreed to his demand for a inquiry.

Responding to Bicholim MLA Naresh Sawal's question, Naik said instructions would be issued to provide power supply to Sal village which is currently getting power from Maharashtra. The village is excessively-billed by the neighbouring state.

Naik also said that the central allocation of power to Goa is around 462 MW. Besides, Goa receives 17 MW from Ratnagiri, 12-16 MW from Reliance and 20 MW from cogeneration power plant. In 2017, the power requirement will be around 825 MW, he said.

Goa, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar talks tough on new liquor licences
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Parrikar-talks-tough-on-new-liquor-licences...
TNN | Jul 29, 2012,
 
Panaji:  From next month, the state government will put a freeze on all new liquor licences for both, retail as well as wholesale outlets, in residential colonies in Goa, chief minister Manohar Parrikar said on Saturday.

Parrikar was speaking at an event to celebrate Statistics Day at the Kala Academy, Panaji, at a function organized by the department of planning, statistics and evaluation (DPSE).

Citing statistics provided by DPSE, Parrikar said he was "shocked" and " disturbed" to learn that there are over 30,000 widows in Goa. He said that a small percentage of these will be due to road accidents and other phenomena claiming the lives of men. Parrikar said that the figure of deaths cannot be fudged. He added that a large percentage of deaths in Goa are because of alcohol abuse and that the figure of 30,000 indicates that Goa has a serious social problem to be addressed.

The freeze on new liquor licences on retail and wholesale outlets in residential colonies is the government's attempt to reduce the problem.

Parrikar praised the work of the DPSE, saying that though the department is not seen in the frontline of public service, it is valuable data and statistics that the department provides, which helps the government to frame policies for the people. He recalled how information provided by the department had helped him eliminate a problem in schools some years ago

He said he was puzzled by a report of the comptroller auditor general (CAG) which criticized the low distribution of raincoats to students in government schools. Data showed that there were about 1.12 lakh students enrolling from Classes I to IV in schools. But information from DPSE showed that Goa's birth rate was in the range of 20,000.

Armed with this knowledge, Parrikar investigated how primary schools had enrollment of 1.12 lakh. He found that teachers were simply enrolling names to show a large number of students in their schools so that they would not be transferred to other locations. It was information by the DPSE that helped him eliminate a problem in Goan schools, Parrikar said.

In his welcome speech, DPSE director Anand Sherkhane reiterated his department's resolve to identifying the state's problems, designing appropriate studies, analyzing the data and suggesting corrective measures. He said that though Statistics Day is normally celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Prof P C Mahalanobis on June 29, it had to be postponed to July 28.

The Times of India

From: [Goanet-News] Goanet Reader: Rule of One
(Devika Sequeira, in Herald Review)‏
Devika Sequeira | devikasequeira@gmail.com

An intriguing story has been doing the buzz in media circles here. An ambitious new BJP minister from South Goa who accepted a gift for an official favour received a visit from a party functionary. Acting on instructions from the chief minister, the BJP man asked the embarrassed minister to make over the 'gifted' amount to the party treasury.

The shamed politician also received a signed receipt for the Rs 50,000. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's admirers -- currently they are legion -- see this as yet another example of his unimpeachable integrity and resolve to keep his band in line. To his critics, these are glaring instances of the second-time CM's obsessive need to crack the whip to show who calls the shots.

After years of fragmented governance (two power changes to be precise since Parrikar's 2000-2004 stint) "we have a single power centre and a modicum of sanity in administration", a senior bureaucrat tells me. He sees this as "good for Goa". Another official who was regularly kicked around in the whimsical administrative shifts and reshuffles -- a ploy used by most politicians to keep state civil servants on a leash -- also expresses relief that "there is someone in command -- at last".

Surprisingly, the praise for the new chief minister is also tempered with a large degree of uneasiness among those in his administration, just four months after his takeover. At the core of this is the question of his sincerity to his new "secular" avatar given his quiet yet resolute moves to delegate key institutional positions to men who are deeply saffron or Saraswat or both, and the extent of his commitment to the stack of pre-electoral promises.

"His body language may have changed, but has his ideology?" a former Congress minister who has rubbed shoulders with Parrikar for years, asks. The question is relevant to those on both sides of the divide.

Among the mostly faceless line-up of new BJP legislators the politically travelled Vishnu Wagh stands out and is the only one willing to speak candidly: The chief minister is a far more accommodating politician than he was earlier, he says.

"I can understand his compulsion on the medium of instruction (MoI). It was a promise he had to keep, and some compromise was to be expected." But Wagh sees little clarity in Parrikar's MoI decision favouring Diocesan schools. Will it continue or is there a time-frame for the assistance? BJP cadres are not happy, he says, and within the RSS there is even more resentment over the decision.

Conceding that Parrikar is on tricky gradient on the mining issue, the BJP MLA says "one doesn't get the picture that the government is tackling it with an iron hand". The chief minister's twists and turns on mining in the current session of the state assembly lend credence to the suspicion that having used the issue politically to shame and sink the Digambar Kamat government, the BJP leader is likely to adopt a far more forgiving approach with the cash-rich mining marauders now that he is at the wheel.

"Don't forget," one of his bureaucrats stresses, "that at least five BJP MLAs (Nilesh Cabral, Ganesh Gaonkar, Subhash Phaldesai among others) have interests in the iron ore export business". Mining and casino funds fuelled a large dose of the March 3 election campaign and its fallout is showing on
government policy, he says.

One of the biggest advantages of the clear mandate is that Parrikar can be his own man. In his previous stint as chief minister he was hampered by the pulls and counter-pulls of coalition politics, says UGDP leader Radharao Gracias. With the Cabinet in his control and the likes of the Dhavlikars in check, Gracias expects we'll see "more and more" of Parrikar and less and less of his other Cabinet colleagues. Even a senior minister like Francis D'Souza, the number two in the ministry line-up, is hardly seen, he points out.

Parrikar makes a good administrator, but he is so distrusting of his colleagues and their abilities to perform in government to the point of being contemptuous, Wagh believes. "He looks down on others. I've never seen him taking advice from anyone," he says. The chief minister's compulsive need to be in absolute control, vet every file and make every decision, is a major irritant for his officials. One of them said he had been waiting days for an appointment with the overburdened head
of government, even though there were urgent matters to clear.

With a judicious mix of accommodation and ideology, Manohar Parrikar has managed to reinvent his political persona pre-March 3, cultivating the image of a balanced politician and new-found champion of the minorities (read Catholics). How much of this is genuine and how much political posturing to harness Catholic votes for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections will become clear in the months to come. Within his party there are signs of discomfort over the increasing influence of RSS Saraswats. "The bahujan samaj accounts for the BJP's biggest share of votes. Parrikar should never forget that," Gracias says.

The Church which cozied up to saffron in this election is also playing a wait and watch game. "It's apparent that things are not as rosy as they appeared," says Fr Savio Fernandes, executive secretary Council for Social Justice and Peace. The lack of transparency in government decisions and the concentration of power in one man's hands were worrying trends, he felt.

"I had problems satisfying the demands of my constituency. The public's expectations of this government are very high. How will they deliver?" former Congress minister Vishwajit Rane wonders.

The challenge is before Manohar Parrikar.

Prayers and politics

It is no secret that the Goa Church has been openly political. It has often rallied on social issues, willing to take these quite literally to the streets on several instances in the past. What however is so striking are the individual Church voices that have so openly been raised to promote the return of the BJP against the eloquent silence of the Hindu priesthood.

Fr Eremito Rebello, rector of the Joseph Vaz institute in Sancoale will most famously be remembered for his highly political homily during the funeral of Matanhy Saldanha. Rebello's speech, an embarrassment that had secular people squirm in their seats that day, practically dictated the course of a byelection in which several candidates were bought off.

"Why do priests involve themselves in politics?" Jose Philip D'Souza wonders. The former NCP minister is upset that after having put himself out for the parish priest of Vasco, helping in church repairs and other works, Fr Jose Antonio Costa campaigned so actively against him.

All the CM's Men

Unlike countless governments that have preceded this one, Manohar Parrikar's Cabinet team is largely inexperienced.

Francis D'Souza, Dayanand Mandrekar and the MGP's Sudin Dhavlikar are the only ministers to have been in government in the past. But that, apparently, is not the reason the chief minister relies so little on his Cabinet colleagues.

An A team of close confidants functions virtually as a Super Cabinet, say BJP insiders. Within the core group around Parrikar are Satish Dhond, Narendra Sawaikar and Dattaprasad Kholkar, all RSS
men, fairly young and unflinching in their dedica tion to the saffron cause. The three function as key advisors to the CM and pointsmen in matters political.

Seen as the virtual No 2 in this government, Dhond prefers to play the political game from the shadows, calling the shots from behind the scenes, orchestrating street agitations and party strategy. His name stood out prominently in the Curchorem riots case. It was doing the rounds recently when Fisheries Minister Avertano Furtado appeared to be veering toward the Vijai Sardessai pressure group. Dhond is credited with having corralled him back to the BJP stable.

Narendra Sawaikar who's replaced Ramakant Khalap as chairman of the state's Law Commission contested and lost a Lok Sabha poll. A close aide of Parrikar's for years, Sawaikar has in recent weeks been assigned a more public relations role with the token Catholic face Wilfred Mesquita somewhat sidelined after the election. Also out from the shadows is businessman Dattaprasad Kholkar who the chief minister has elevated to the position of deputy chairman State Planning Commission.

Kholkar's credentials for the post have more to do with his caste and loyalty to the right of centre ideology than real competence, the more liberal BJP members feel. The Insiders Club has become a source of friction within the larger BJP group which resents that senior partymen like Damu Naik and Govind Parvatkar have been deliberately ignored.

Advocate General Atmaram Nadkarni who has cultivated connections across the political spectrum and also represented some of the biggest mining companies and hotel groups is another key advisor Parrikar relies on, say sources close to him. Nadkarni was advocate general during the Sardinha government's stint and in the earlier Parrikar-led coalition.

Apart from the political movers and shakers who are a part of his inner circle, Parrikar relies heavily on a handful of officials to act as his ears and messengers. His quick decision to pull in Prasad Lolayekar and Michael D'Souza as OSDs (officers on special duty) to the CM did not go unnoticed.

Reliable, honest and efficient, Lolayekar, director Art and Culture has managed to steer clear of politics and stay with the job. D'Souza who heads the department of Science, Technology and Environment has become the chief minister's most dependable asset, affording him quiet access to the Church's views on the medium of instruction and other crucial matters. Sources in the government credit the self-effacing official, known to have been close to Parrikar even through Congress rule, with helping the BJP CM steer through the MoI (medium of instruction) mine-field. -- Devika Sequeira in the Herald Review, Goa, July 22, 2012.

Code of Comunidades, English Translation
Frederick FN Noronha fredericknoronha1 at gmail.com
Sat Jul 28 09:54:19 PDT 2012

There's an official translation -- into English -- of this, a copy of which was shared with me by Anand Salgaokar <anand.salgaokar at gmail.com> for which, many thanks.

See the document here http://bit.ly/CodeOfComunidades

A PDF of the document, the full 237 pages, can be downloaded by those who have a Facebook Account

http://www.scribd.com/doc/101350762/1213-16-SI-OG-Communidade-Code

 
 Click image for .pdf excerpts

India bans Russian and Israeli tourists from forming enclaves
http://www.presstv.com/detail/2012/07/29/253340/india-bans-israeli-tourists/

Indian tourist resort of Goa will not allow the existence of private enclaves created by foreigners, especially Russian and Israeli tourists.

State Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the state legislative assembly that from the coming tourist session starting in October, the monopoly of any area by the foreign nationals will not be tolerated.

There have been many complaints in the past against the presence of so called restricted areas. Most of them are located in the villages in north Goa. Entire neighbourhoods in many of these beach villages have become virtually foreign territories where the entry of locals is banned or heavily restricted.

Foreigners on long visas even business visas have bought rows of houses in particular areas to create such enclaves. There have also been scuffles between locals and foreigners over the issue.
To express his seriousness Parrikar also warned that the hotels and beach shacks, which serve exclusively to foreigners could lose their trade licences. From now on all their signboards have to be in the local language Konkani or English. Currently many of them use only Russian or Hebrew to serve exclusive clients.

The so called foreign enclaves have existed for many years and are the known centres of drug abuse and its trading. Despite many efforts the authorities have not been able to tackle the problem.
Russian and Israeli tourists in particular are known to have all kinds of vices and are known to over indulge when they arrive in large numbers around Christmas and NewYear and disturb the peace of the surrounding areas.

Every year Goa attracts two million tourists many of whom stay for months in their respective enclaves. The session that starts in October lasts up to March.

Courtesy : Press TV