Staff Selection Commission Saga
What next for the Goa Staff Selection Commission, what is Micheal Lobo up to and the plight of Goa's public transport, this and more in this week's edition
So, it’s back to business then after what was an eventful last week, some of which spilt over into this week, beginning with ex-RSS Chief Subhash Velingkar agreeing before the Bombay High Court at Goa that he would “cooperate” with the investigation and subsequently showing up at the Bicholim Police Station for questioning in the cease.
The case is still ongoing, and I have much to say (more on that later), but for now, with the dust settling a bit, it allows us to turn our attention to some of the things that went under the radar or perhaps were lost sight of amid all the rigmarole.
For example, the Bhutani ‘show-cause’ notice. It has been at least two weeks since the Mormugao Planning and Development Authority issued a ‘show-cause’ notice asking M/s Parmesh Constructions Company Limited, the company in whose name the licences have been issued, why they shouldn’t be revoked, giving them seven days to reply, failing which the permissions were liable to be revoked.
No permissions have been revoked yet, but from what I’ve heard, the company has filed its reply to the MPDA show-cause notice, which the MPDA has duly forwarded to the Town and Country Head Office for its opinion and advice in the matter. So far, no decision has been taken that we know off, so it is something to be on the lookout for.
The Staff Selection Commission Saga
Similarly, let’s also talk about the staff selection commission, an issue that also went under the radar thanks to the aforementioned ‘distraction’ and didn't get the attention it deserved.
The Goa Staff Selection Commission was set up in order to oversee recruitment for Class C and D posts in government departments (non-gazetted posts). Gazetted posts are in any case overseen by the Goa Public Service Commission.
Class C posts include clerical staff and related positions like data entry operators, etc., while Class D posts include staff like drivers, peons, multitasking staff, etc. Until a few months ago, these posts were being directly recruited by the individual departments; that is, if the PWD wanted to recruit staff for class C and D posts, they would issue their own advertisement, hold an entrance exam, conduct the selection process, and hire the candidates of their choice. It is a system that is in place in many states of the country.
But, as you would expect, this process was riddled with corruption. There is no hesitation in me saying this because members of the BJP themselves have been accusing ministers of their own party of corruption in recruitment. It wasn’t all that long ago when Babush Monserrate accused then PWD minister Deepak Prabhu Pauskar of irregularities in recruitment, and Pauskar wasn’t even given a BJP ticket in the 2022 elections.
It was not the case of the PWD alone. That only the people of Sattari are qualified enough to be recruited at the Goa Medical College and the Health Department is now a legendary tale.
Almost every minister would launch or attempt to launch ‘recruitment’ drives for the departments under his care, leading to allegations, counter-arguments, court cases, and a whole lot of back and forth until the process was scrapped either by the courts or by the succeeding minister, who was unwilling to live with the candidates hired by his predecessor.
All that was sought to be sorted with the introduction of the staff selection commission, which would conduct a common exam and help recruit without the individual departments having to do so.
No doubt this wasn’t going to be a panacea, but the move by the chief minister to mandate recruitment through the SSA upset a certain minister in his government so much so that he went to his daddy to complain (not literally).
Lo and behold, word soon went out that the staff selection commission was being ‘scrapped’. Understandably, there’s consternation about the move.
The Congress has taken it up, but the battle lies ahead. Are we to allow one man to have his way, or should a fair system be put in place once for all?
Remember that it’s the BJP (high command) itself that is opposing the BJP government’s move to introduce a staff selection commission. If you wanted to know who is really calling the shots in the state, that should answer your question.
Lobo’s fishing in troubled waters (again)
Which brings me to another interesting tidbit that may have skipped your attention during the week.
Calangute BJP MLA issued a statement denying that he was going to launch a new political outfit ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. In his statement, he said it was the journalist's opinion “which he respects” and sought to downplay the reports, saying that he was “with the people” and takes decisions based on what the people want. He also raised eyebrows when the said the Velingkar issue was to divert from more pressing issues like Bhutani, etc.
I have just two things to say on this: “No smoke without fire” and “Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.”
This doesn’t necessarily mean that he and a few others will launch a new political outfit, but it definitely means that the idea is floating around. After all, “all’s not well in the Goa BJP.”
Bulldozer justice?
There are two other things that happened in the latter half of this week that I think deserve mention in this weekly roundup.
Firstly, the Mapusa Municipal Council carried out a demolition of structures that were illegally put up on land that was allegedly illegally grabbed by one Siddique Khan, also known as Suleiman, at Ekta Nagar Mapusa. Khan had put up two concrete structures and a metal shed on the property, besides barbed wire fencing.
The said Siddique is accused in seven cases of land grabs, fraud, and other body offences, some of which were being probed by the Special Investigating Team probing land grabbing in the state.
The demolition was carried out by the Mapusa Municipal Council after following ‘due process’, but that’s not why this story finds mention in this weekly newsletter.
The reason I chose to mention it is simply because, according to the police press note, it was only after the Goa Police acting on “the directions of the Chief Minister” brought to the notice of the Chief Officer, Mapusa, and requested [him] to initiate [the] demolition process that the demolition was carried out. How many times does the police ‘publicise’ an act of demolition carried out by a municipality?
Is this a regular demolition of illegal structures, or is this UP-style bulldozer justice being delivered and publicised “as per the directions of the Honourable Chief Minister?” to send a message to wrongdoers. The religion of the accused also hasn’t escaped attention.
That thought surely did cross your mind when reading about it, did it not?
The electric circuit
And secondly, Saturday was Dussehra. A day when people across the land celebrate new beginnings. In Goa, it’s also special for another reason, i.e., the foundation day of the Kadamba Transport Corporation, or KTC as it is commonly called.
At the function held yesterday (Saturday), Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant urged the public to use public transport because it is safer. Which is true—public transport is not only safer (than a two-wheeler), but it is also environmentally friendly.
The Chief Minister’s statement, however, flies in the face of the pathetic nature of Goa’s public transport infrastructure, making it a very undesirable option for many. But more than that, however, I want to use the opportunity to point you to this edit in The Goan Everyday that was published more than a month ago.
The editorial talks about how the severe shortage of buses that the KTC is currently enduring is of the government’s own making. In its enthusiasm and to promote electric mobility, the Goa government has forgotten to promote mobility. In its excitement to deploy electric buses all across the state, the government has forgotten to deploy buses across the state.
If the government’s own admission is something to go by, then the KTC is facing a shortage of 150 buses. A week later, Chaiman Ulhas Tuenkar said the shortage was of around 250 buses. The real shortage is probably much higher. This shortage is entirely due to the government’s electric-only policy for bus purchases, deliveries of which have been painfully slow well beyond promised timelines.
It is only when the number of buses reached a critical level that the government agreed, as a'stop gap’ arrangement, to buy diesel buses to tide over the shortage. 50 buses were inaugurated on Saturday.
An efficient and reliable public transport system—electric or not—that encourages people to leave their personal vehicles at home is already a net positive for the environment (and road safety). But an inefficient and sparsely available public transport system—even if electric—isn't the win for the environment you think it is.
Back to Velingkar
And finally a note on the Velingkar saga so far.
Subhash Velingkar showed up at the Bicholim police station on Monday after having, earlier in the day (via his lawyers), assured the High Court that he would be cooperating with the investigation.
It is somewhat of a relief that things have (so far) passed off somewhat peacefully. This wasn’t always a given. For a while, if word on the street is to be believed, it seemed that Velingkar was planning a show of strength of his own—that is, to show up at the police station for questioning amid much fanfare to counter the impression that he was on the run from the law.
Thankfully, that didn’t happen. He was either advised against it or thought the better of it. Meaning only a handful of people turned up outside the police station, which means matters will now hopefully subside instead of being fuelled further and allow the state’s attention to move to more pressing issues.
It’s now the time to be ready to come to the streets for the bigger battles that lie ahead.
In any case, that’s all I have for you this week. Hope you enjoyed reading this week’s edition of my newsletter as much as I did writing it. Make sure you leave a like, comment or do not hesitate to write in, should you have something more to say.
As always, please share and help spread the word. Until next week, then. Tchau!
Goa has imported the UP model of bulldozing homes and demonising the muslim community - another masterstroke. Will they now demolish the illegal clubs/restaurants violating CRZ ?
Lobo will get his due reward ,for disrespecting God and dubiously cheating his voters and luring the other 9 along with him. “Never take the name of God in Vain.”😭