Bad day at Devaaya
This is what the December issue of Outlook Traveller had to say of the resort in Diwar. "Unfortunately it's all downhill from there (before this the writer describes the resort design and architecture.) No vehicles allowed inside; but why we should have to find the reception desk unaided we don't know. The plastered walls show cracks, the marble in the bathrooms is stained. You share your poolside buffet with crows, the pool with pigeons. The room service menu is whimsically withdrawn. With the property soon to be re-launched as a Wellness resort, the staff seems unsure of what they offer (or don't.) F&B is scary. Only one restaurant is operational-a blessing, given the kitchen hygiene (from black-rimmed teacups to vein-in prawns.) The fare is largely North Indian. Hardly anything Goan, barely any sea food. Yet the one time I have Goan fish curry, it's miles ahead of the rogan josh."
The writer goes on to say: "Trouble is, when the rest of the service grates on the nerves, meals are nigh inedible and peace refuses to come, the knots in your spine don't ease up. We can only hope the place sorts itself out, and soon! Mind you, the Outlook Traveller went invited expenses paid to Devaaya where the ESG threw a huge party last year and where I met an East European film journalist who had terrible things to say about ESG's organization skills. The ESG off course would call all these indigestible (pun intended) facts yellow journalism.
Goan!
Point is Victor Albuquerque who is reported to have said in Diwar that he was prepared to hot mix the islands' wretched roads for free if he was given the contract, doesn't think it is necessary to serve Goan food despite his wanting to contest the Panjim assembly election because as he told me at the bash "Goa is going to the dogs." There is fair comparison here, though on paper it doesn't appear so. Because when it comes to putting your money where your mouth is Verna's Leonaras is an example. It holds a Konkani film exhibition every IFFI to make a point and recently even held a Konkani music festival. It's hard to be a genuine Goemkar.
Selling of Goa
I mean that literally because I was given a bunch of tourist literature produced by the tourism departments of Kerala and Karnataka distributed by their respective IAS officers at the helm and who, I must say are extremely articulate. And by articulate I mean apart from lucid and coherent, being savvy. Because you can be an English professor or reader at university but still not be savvy. In comparison what Goa produces can only be described as rubbish.
Karnataka with hardly a tourism industry to boast of has three separate well designed booklets titled 'Maidan Circuit' 'Southern Circuit' and 'Malnad Circuit' -as their names suggest each targeting different areas of the State. The department also has a 229-page book that gives every conceivable bit of tourist information and a beautiful coffee table book as well. Add a KTDC booklet describing 'The Golden Chariot' the 19 luxury tourist train to all the above.
Even the map of Karnataka the department produces is far better than the map of Goa ; produced by the tourism department if only you can lay your hands on one. It is the size of an opened newspaper (admittedly Karnataka is huge) and on the reverse side is all the information a traveler needs. By comparison the only good maps of Goa are produced by a private party and circulated free so that the latter, ironically, can earn advertising revenue. As for the tourist literature produced by Kerala, it would just not make sense comparing it with what the tourism department or GTDC (with claims of having ISO 9001:2000) has produced over the years.
Asses of the masses
But if you get the opportunity do view the English DVD titled Panchakarma produced by Kerala Tourism. Also visit http://www.karnatakatourism.org/ and http://www.keralatourism.org/ and compare them with http://www.goatourism.org/ or http://www.goa-tourism.com/ and you seriously wonder what goes on in Narvekar's mind when he talks about gifting Goa an IT industry. You could in fact look at the website and tourist brochures of one of India's youngest state Chattisgarh with no tourist industry and Goa's brochures will still be pitiful.
Reality bytes
Next, look at the Road Atlas produced by Indian Map Service and on the Goa section. Page 58 describes Goa from the Gomanchala, Gopakapattam, Gopakapuri, Govapuri, Govarashtra bygone eras through to the Satvahana empire and Kadambas, Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas and Silharas; the fact the Portuguese ruled, Goa as a UT and a State; but among all these tongue twisters there is no mention of Calangute, Colva, Candolim or any of the items that Goa's flying circus sells abroad. Then look at the other pages on different states. Obviously the GTDC and tourism department aren't doing their homework.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
December 24, 2008 - Even More Iffi
Proof of junkets
Last week I wrote on how the ESG and the government spend big money on knowledge missions to Cannes and how at the ground level very little seems to be achieved each year because the Cannes Film Festival is exactly that, a Cannes do, and well IFFI is exactly what that means 'iffy.' After investigating the 2006 Cannes festival Francisco Martins Goa's king of special effects wrote in his report: "The entire venue comes alive with brass bands and non-electronic musical instruments only at different places (quoted verbatim, figure it out please.) The ambient noise level is conducive for maintaining serenity of the place for serious business talks." Appallingly he admitted: "We had not met together before we left for the festival. I understand that our
objective was to study the festival layout and plan to help Goa plan a better organized festival." The 2006 delegation among others consisted of the Chief Secretary JP Singh, Sanjit Rodrigues, CEO, ESG, Anju Timblo and Martins.
Opinions differ
The May 2007 Team Cannes reported in its section Street Décor: "The street décor is generally very mellowed and basic. There is no street animation like jugglers serenades, carnival parades etc or any other activity which causes hindrance to the movement of people and traffic.
The organizers have succeeded in creating a cinematic environment around the festival venue." The report goes on to say: "The success of Cannes is largely attributed to the huge grand and spectacular film market which is located in the main festival venue. Several companies from 90 countries and almost 5000 registered buyers/sellers participated." The team consisted of Diwan Chand, Special Secretary (I&P) and the ESG's Nandini Paliwal, Nikhil Desai and Ethel D'Costa.
While making its many recommendations ESG admitted: "IFFI currently does not possess the pull factor to ensure the presence of important film personalities such as business opportunities, good films, sizeable prize money etc." So why does the Congress hold IFFI when it is in government and oppose it as a waste of scarce public money when it is in opposition? Because, the ESG expense sheet is mind-boggling.
Expenditure on print media only:
2004-05 Rs.33,47,330
2004-06 Rs.55,79,765
2004-07 Rs.10,15,981
2004-08 Rs.43,74,724
Total Rs.1,43,17,800
Expenses incurred on invitees
Traveling-artists/delegates Lodging/boarding Artist fees
2004-05 Rs.10027709 Rs.6445186 nil
2005-06 Rs.10652880 Rs.21297010 Rs.4882040
2006-07 Rs.16540932 Rs.10462560 Rs.50522620
2007-08 Rs.7763819 Rs.5812601 nil
Total: Rs.44985340 Rs.44017357 Rs.55404660
Payments made to Cidade de Goa of this to accommodate delegates.
2005-06 & 2007-08 (as on 12.10.07): Rs.12440211.
Bottom line: Delegates/artists come to IFFI only if it's an all-expense paid junket in 5-Star hotels whereas ESG admits it has no clue how much film business is transacted each year. Add this to the fact Brilliant Entertainment Network which was allowed to bid for IFFI 2007 owes ESG Rs263 lakh while the Directorate of Film Festival, Delhi owes it Rs1,54,196.
Yellow journalism?
Shockingly this is what Team Cannes 2007 thinks of the media: "Accredited press be made to accept/sign a code of fair conduct at the time of receiving press accreditation cards in order to discourage yellow journalism and reporting of frivolous issues detrimental to the image of the festival and the organizers. This exercise will help to encourage/enable responsible journalism and invite responsible journalists to build upon IFFI as a serious film festival. Violation of the code should result in debarring said media persons/house from future festivals." And you thought we were a free democracy. Though I asked for expenditure on both the print and electronic media, ESG produced details for only the print media. Still after spending Rs.1,43,17,800 on the print media, ESG appears to have a compulsive obsession with the media because six of the 17 recommendations are to do with the media. And, they are all about how to make the media more pliable and cognizant of its own self-acclaimed role in the film industry. Oh yes, it actually says so in its report.
ESG's obsession
If you still think the current lot at ESG are not obsessed, this is what Team Cannes 2007 reported. "Festival coverage: The festival (Cannes) coverage is huge, highly professional without resorting to sensational news items or yellow journalism. Press invitations at parties is also restricted to invites per media depending upon the criteria's mentioned in media management (of the 17-page report which also has 17 separate recommendations.) The level of discipline
enforced and maintained at this prestigious festival is truly commendable as the press understands its roles, functions and responsibility. Most accredited press journalists at Cannes are frequent, serious festival attendees deputed by their media houses to cover film/trade related news items. Mismanagement or unruly behaviour by press (as noticed frequently during IFFI) is not tolerated by festival organizers leading to debarring of accreditation for that
particular press person/media house in the future." In fact, the report devotes three pages to dealing with the media.
The new cop in town
He had barely a six-month stint in Puducherry (changed from Pondicherry by the way) before he was suddenly moved out. It caused much speculation in the UT because during his short stint, he tried to bring in police reforms like the Goonda act that rubbed politicians the wrong side. So while there was speculation that he had been shunted out, the truth was is his post as the head of the Puducherry police was upgraded. So since someone (A. S Khan) who was of the rank of Director General of Police came in, Kishan Kumar who was an IGP was moved out. By the way, he is credited with introducing the beat system in the police there. A crime reporter in Pudcherry says, "He was for modernization." Others saw him by and large as "accessible, calm,
reserved" one who had no controversy surrounding him. In other words, a good cop. Will our politicians leave him be?
Last week I wrote on how the ESG and the government spend big money on knowledge missions to Cannes and how at the ground level very little seems to be achieved each year because the Cannes Film Festival is exactly that, a Cannes do, and well IFFI is exactly what that means 'iffy.' After investigating the 2006 Cannes festival Francisco Martins Goa's king of special effects wrote in his report: "The entire venue comes alive with brass bands and non-electronic musical instruments only at different places (quoted verbatim, figure it out please.) The ambient noise level is conducive for maintaining serenity of the place for serious business talks." Appallingly he admitted: "We had not met together before we left for the festival. I understand that our
objective was to study the festival layout and plan to help Goa plan a better organized festival." The 2006 delegation among others consisted of the Chief Secretary JP Singh, Sanjit Rodrigues, CEO, ESG, Anju Timblo and Martins.
Opinions differ
The May 2007 Team Cannes reported in its section Street Décor: "The street décor is generally very mellowed and basic. There is no street animation like jugglers serenades, carnival parades etc or any other activity which causes hindrance to the movement of people and traffic.
The organizers have succeeded in creating a cinematic environment around the festival venue." The report goes on to say: "The success of Cannes is largely attributed to the huge grand and spectacular film market which is located in the main festival venue. Several companies from 90 countries and almost 5000 registered buyers/sellers participated." The team consisted of Diwan Chand, Special Secretary (I&P) and the ESG's Nandini Paliwal, Nikhil Desai and Ethel D'Costa.
While making its many recommendations ESG admitted: "IFFI currently does not possess the pull factor to ensure the presence of important film personalities such as business opportunities, good films, sizeable prize money etc." So why does the Congress hold IFFI when it is in government and oppose it as a waste of scarce public money when it is in opposition? Because, the ESG expense sheet is mind-boggling.
Expenditure on print media only:
2004-05 Rs.33,47,330
2004-06 Rs.55,79,765
2004-07 Rs.10,15,981
2004-08 Rs.43,74,724
Total Rs.1,43,17,800
Expenses incurred on invitees
Traveling-artists/delegates Lodging/boarding Artist fees
2004-05 Rs.10027709 Rs.6445186 nil
2005-06 Rs.10652880 Rs.21297010 Rs.4882040
2006-07 Rs.16540932 Rs.10462560 Rs.50522620
2007-08 Rs.7763819 Rs.5812601 nil
Total: Rs.44985340 Rs.44017357 Rs.55404660
Payments made to Cidade de Goa of this to accommodate delegates.
2005-06 & 2007-08 (as on 12.10.07): Rs.12440211.
Bottom line: Delegates/artists come to IFFI only if it's an all-expense paid junket in 5-Star hotels whereas ESG admits it has no clue how much film business is transacted each year. Add this to the fact Brilliant Entertainment Network which was allowed to bid for IFFI 2007 owes ESG Rs263 lakh while the Directorate of Film Festival, Delhi owes it Rs1,54,196.
Yellow journalism?
Shockingly this is what Team Cannes 2007 thinks of the media: "Accredited press be made to accept/sign a code of fair conduct at the time of receiving press accreditation cards in order to discourage yellow journalism and reporting of frivolous issues detrimental to the image of the festival and the organizers. This exercise will help to encourage/enable responsible journalism and invite responsible journalists to build upon IFFI as a serious film festival. Violation of the code should result in debarring said media persons/house from future festivals." And you thought we were a free democracy. Though I asked for expenditure on both the print and electronic media, ESG produced details for only the print media. Still after spending Rs.1,43,17,800 on the print media, ESG appears to have a compulsive obsession with the media because six of the 17 recommendations are to do with the media. And, they are all about how to make the media more pliable and cognizant of its own self-acclaimed role in the film industry. Oh yes, it actually says so in its report.
ESG's obsession
If you still think the current lot at ESG are not obsessed, this is what Team Cannes 2007 reported. "Festival coverage: The festival (Cannes) coverage is huge, highly professional without resorting to sensational news items or yellow journalism. Press invitations at parties is also restricted to invites per media depending upon the criteria's mentioned in media management (of the 17-page report which also has 17 separate recommendations.) The level of discipline
enforced and maintained at this prestigious festival is truly commendable as the press understands its roles, functions and responsibility. Most accredited press journalists at Cannes are frequent, serious festival attendees deputed by their media houses to cover film/trade related news items. Mismanagement or unruly behaviour by press (as noticed frequently during IFFI) is not tolerated by festival organizers leading to debarring of accreditation for that
particular press person/media house in the future." In fact, the report devotes three pages to dealing with the media.
The new cop in town
He had barely a six-month stint in Puducherry (changed from Pondicherry by the way) before he was suddenly moved out. It caused much speculation in the UT because during his short stint, he tried to bring in police reforms like the Goonda act that rubbed politicians the wrong side. So while there was speculation that he had been shunted out, the truth was is his post as the head of the Puducherry police was upgraded. So since someone (A. S Khan) who was of the rank of Director General of Police came in, Kishan Kumar who was an IGP was moved out. By the way, he is credited with introducing the beat system in the police there. A crime reporter in Pudcherry says, "He was for modernization." Others saw him by and large as "accessible, calm,
reserved" one who had no controversy surrounding him. In other words, a good cop. Will our politicians leave him be?
December 17, 2008- Very Iffi
Feathered friends
Last week I wrote about N. Suranarayana, the former tourism director and controversial CCP administrator who quit his government top job under strange circumstances flying 12 times abroad. Had he not quit, it can be assumed he would have continued flying, breaking or creating
new records, you can never tell in Goa. For the record and for the birdies amongst us, these are the records of a genuine species that have to keep soaring in the skies to stay fit and healthy; and for free. Fastest-moving bird: diving peregrine falcon at 188 km/h, fastest flapping flight: white-throated needle-tailed swift at 170 km/h, fastest level-flight: red-breasted merganser at 161 km/h, longest flying bird: sooty terns, they can go 3-10 years without landing, longest flying (land bird): common swift, can go up to 3 years without landing, fastest bird flying: racing pigeon, at about 100 mph. You have something to compare with now.
Can-do Cannes
While tourism fairs attract most of Goa's frequent flyers, the Cannes Film Festival in France appears to have an equal magnetic attraction for some. This category is down to a fortunate few however because mercifully Goa does not have a minister for IFFI. Nevertheless, Cannes is a can-do fly that is becoming popular.
Cannes Trekkers
Nandini Paliwal, CEO, Nikhil Dessai, General Manager and Ethel D' Costa, PRO of the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) flew to Cannes in May 2007 at a cost of Rs7,78,543. Among the others who flew to Cannes (in May 2006) were the Chief Secretary, JP Singh, the then ESG CEO Sanjit Rodrigues, Anju Timblo and Francisco Martins, both generally considered to be permanent and exclusive members of ESG's governing body. According to the ESG a team from the Directorate of Information and Publicity also went to Cannes in 2004 and footed its own bill. In addition a consultant Uma de Cunha was hired in 2006-07 at a cost of Rs25,000 "for advice on programming of film" whatever that means. But by far the most startling disclosure by the ESG under the RTI is the fact it paid A.F Ferguson & Co a massive Rs17,95,840 for "financial
consultancy on (the) multiplex tender and (the) Old GMC re-adaptive use tender."
Postcript
How's this for adaptableness? In plain English it means that the government that can't afford garbage compacters or money to prevent the dangerous erosion of the coast (it asked the Centre for funds last week) spent that kind of money on a bit of consultancy that caused it much heartburn when more than one loophole in the Inox contract was exposed (by GT) and to advise it on how to rent out the heritage GMC building to a mall owner albeit the only rabbit it pulled out of its bag of tricks was the use of inspiring lingo like 're-adaptive use.'
After all when you sell your newspaper pile as radhi for what you think is gainfully more money, you don't call it re-adaptive use or, something quainter like 'backward integration' or if you like 'forward integration' of your spent newspapers. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? It's as much a misnomer as aam aadmi and 'jobs for youth?'
Reel life
Asked on what basis ESG's Team Cannes is picked, the RTI replied "the persons were selected on the basis of their work area ie the organization of film festival and promotion of IFFI in Goa and Goa as (a) film destination." Really now. Isn't 'promoting Goa' beginning to sound a tad clichéd. For instance, the government sends teams of tourism officials globetrotting and yet finds reason to spend crores advertising on boring BBC.
Reporting back
The report Paliwal, Desai and D'Costa submitted along with another tour member Diwan Chand, the Special Secretary (I&P) on their return has hardly been implemented at IFFI. Nearly all of the expert opinions in the report could in fact have been gathered by interviewing Indian film critics who have gone to Cannes or downloaded from the Internet.
The most glaring variation or failure to implement is the registration process. The ESG report: "The registration process (Cannes) follows a hierarchy where the film producers, actors, directors, buyers, sellers, sales agent etc are accorded the highest preference and priority for various events in the festival." It goes on to state how 90 per cent of bookings (Cannes) are done Online! Hasn't every global entertainment or sporting event been sold Online for decades? Is there a more transparent way?
Other Cannes can't-does
The other and rather mundane categories reported on by the team are 'opening ceremony 'street décor' 'merchandise' 'festival volunteers' ' beach screening' 'film market' 'travel and hospitality' 'transport arrangements' 'sponsorships' 'media management.' Yet at each IFFI, the anaesthetized Press Information Bureau (PIB) commandeers the press accreditation process and turns it typically Mumbai and Delhi centric.
The ESG report: "From January onwards (Cannes is held in May) requests for accreditation are open by post." Compare this with the PIB's eleventh hour intervention each year, not to mention the normal finishing touches that take place even as IFFI starts. In fact in its recommendations ESG admitted that: "Multiple accreditations for the same media house (as noticed last where Times of India was given 10 accreditation for 10 different publications) should be discouraged and relegated to two accreditations per media house/TV channel." As for IFFI's publications and kits, much has been written about the howlers in them each year. Nuff said this week.
Bleeding Hearts Club
The new member to the club's only other member Mummy is a mine owner. What's with the M's I'd like to know? Funny, how the man who made his millions if not billions selling Goa's precious red earth and India's wealth cheaply first to the Japanese and later to the Chinese, now seeks to protect the topsoil! Point is can you believe him?
Last week I wrote about N. Suranarayana, the former tourism director and controversial CCP administrator who quit his government top job under strange circumstances flying 12 times abroad. Had he not quit, it can be assumed he would have continued flying, breaking or creating
new records, you can never tell in Goa. For the record and for the birdies amongst us, these are the records of a genuine species that have to keep soaring in the skies to stay fit and healthy; and for free. Fastest-moving bird: diving peregrine falcon at 188 km/h, fastest flapping flight: white-throated needle-tailed swift at 170 km/h, fastest level-flight: red-breasted merganser at 161 km/h, longest flying bird: sooty terns, they can go 3-10 years without landing, longest flying (land bird): common swift, can go up to 3 years without landing, fastest bird flying: racing pigeon, at about 100 mph. You have something to compare with now.
Can-do Cannes
While tourism fairs attract most of Goa's frequent flyers, the Cannes Film Festival in France appears to have an equal magnetic attraction for some. This category is down to a fortunate few however because mercifully Goa does not have a minister for IFFI. Nevertheless, Cannes is a can-do fly that is becoming popular.
Cannes Trekkers
Nandini Paliwal, CEO, Nikhil Dessai, General Manager and Ethel D' Costa, PRO of the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) flew to Cannes in May 2007 at a cost of Rs7,78,543. Among the others who flew to Cannes (in May 2006) were the Chief Secretary, JP Singh, the then ESG CEO Sanjit Rodrigues, Anju Timblo and Francisco Martins, both generally considered to be permanent and exclusive members of ESG's governing body. According to the ESG a team from the Directorate of Information and Publicity also went to Cannes in 2004 and footed its own bill. In addition a consultant Uma de Cunha was hired in 2006-07 at a cost of Rs25,000 "for advice on programming of film" whatever that means. But by far the most startling disclosure by the ESG under the RTI is the fact it paid A.F Ferguson & Co a massive Rs17,95,840 for "financial
consultancy on (the) multiplex tender and (the) Old GMC re-adaptive use tender."
Postcript
How's this for adaptableness? In plain English it means that the government that can't afford garbage compacters or money to prevent the dangerous erosion of the coast (it asked the Centre for funds last week) spent that kind of money on a bit of consultancy that caused it much heartburn when more than one loophole in the Inox contract was exposed (by GT) and to advise it on how to rent out the heritage GMC building to a mall owner albeit the only rabbit it pulled out of its bag of tricks was the use of inspiring lingo like 're-adaptive use.'
After all when you sell your newspaper pile as radhi for what you think is gainfully more money, you don't call it re-adaptive use or, something quainter like 'backward integration' or if you like 'forward integration' of your spent newspapers. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? It's as much a misnomer as aam aadmi and 'jobs for youth?'
Reel life
Asked on what basis ESG's Team Cannes is picked, the RTI replied "the persons were selected on the basis of their work area ie the organization of film festival and promotion of IFFI in Goa and Goa as (a) film destination." Really now. Isn't 'promoting Goa' beginning to sound a tad clichéd. For instance, the government sends teams of tourism officials globetrotting and yet finds reason to spend crores advertising on boring BBC.
Reporting back
The report Paliwal, Desai and D'Costa submitted along with another tour member Diwan Chand, the Special Secretary (I&P) on their return has hardly been implemented at IFFI. Nearly all of the expert opinions in the report could in fact have been gathered by interviewing Indian film critics who have gone to Cannes or downloaded from the Internet.
The most glaring variation or failure to implement is the registration process. The ESG report: "The registration process (Cannes) follows a hierarchy where the film producers, actors, directors, buyers, sellers, sales agent etc are accorded the highest preference and priority for various events in the festival." It goes on to state how 90 per cent of bookings (Cannes) are done Online! Hasn't every global entertainment or sporting event been sold Online for decades? Is there a more transparent way?
Other Cannes can't-does
The other and rather mundane categories reported on by the team are 'opening ceremony 'street décor' 'merchandise' 'festival volunteers' ' beach screening' 'film market' 'travel and hospitality' 'transport arrangements' 'sponsorships' 'media management.' Yet at each IFFI, the anaesthetized Press Information Bureau (PIB) commandeers the press accreditation process and turns it typically Mumbai and Delhi centric.
The ESG report: "From January onwards (Cannes is held in May) requests for accreditation are open by post." Compare this with the PIB's eleventh hour intervention each year, not to mention the normal finishing touches that take place even as IFFI starts. In fact in its recommendations ESG admitted that: "Multiple accreditations for the same media house (as noticed last where Times of India was given 10 accreditation for 10 different publications) should be discouraged and relegated to two accreditations per media house/TV channel." As for IFFI's publications and kits, much has been written about the howlers in them each year. Nuff said this week.
Bleeding Hearts Club
The new member to the club's only other member Mummy is a mine owner. What's with the M's I'd like to know? Funny, how the man who made his millions if not billions selling Goa's precious red earth and India's wealth cheaply first to the Japanese and later to the Chinese, now seeks to protect the topsoil! Point is can you believe him?
December 10, 2007
Goa's flying circus
Last week you read about Anupam Saraph, a government IT advisor flying abroad twice on purported knowledge seeking missions as early as 2002/2003. It continued this month when the IT Minister Dayanand Narvekar flew to China ostensibly on yet another learning mission when instead he could have called up top consultants from any corner of the planet and they would have eagerly rushed to Goa to do business.
Narvekar's mission is a double loss for the taxpayer because it had to be aborted halfway. This is not to say had the junket continued or extended for that matter the taxpayer would have benefited. Point is also, what did the government learn from Saraph's tours of the US, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore?
Or is it really the blood lust-likeness for flying off on junkets and freebies that matters only because leave alone Larsen & Toubro, the Indian construction conglomerate that built the Hyderabad Information Technology and Engineering Consultancy City (HITEC City) –there is a
long, long list of consultants that would have readily advised Narvekar. Or for that matter the builders of any one of Bangalore's many parks like Electronics City, a 330 acre spread exclusively for electronics industries India's leaders -would at the drop of a hat fly in with greater knowledge than the copycat Chinese and give advice suited to Indian conditions. The list is endless really from Chandigarh to Chennai. You don't have to across international borders
for that, it can be had around the corner.
Mind you, after Narvekar's flight was forced to turn back (in a manner of speaking) by surprisingly Babush Monsarette of all people, Narvekar himself astonishingly divulged that all 18 IT Habitat plots were already allotted and a regulatory body appointed to oversee the project. So, why fly off to China then?
The question really is who are our most frequent flyers. Here's just one list of this growing tribe who have gotten cleverer recently and have begun literally to live off government corporations when pushed for solutions. So, when the ministry or department can't foot the bill, in ride the willing corporations. Thing is under the RTI where expenses are not incurred by the department asked the information, the department is not obliged to give it or point you in the right direction. Therefore some of the missing information below supplied by the Tourism Department. In fact a few fortunate MLAs who were not blessed additionally with ministerial berths have now found a new way to scam the taxpayer. They draw their petrol allowances as MLAs, Parliamentary Secretaries and as corporation chairman. That's the Speed way to get petrol, if you get my drift.
On the wings of fancy Destination Frequent flyer Cost to you
World Travel Mart, London AC Pereira/Satira Dias 60,000
ITB, Berlin, 2000 SS Keshkamat 52,181
Sydney, 2000 Victoria Fernandes --
SS Keshkamat 51,598
Kathmandu, 2000 Victoria Fernandes --
SS Keshkamat 17,255
Vallabh Navelkar --
ITB, 2001 Baleshwar Rai, CS --
SN Phadte 1,08,322
Dubai, 2001 Philip N. Rodrigues --
SS Keshkamat 25,050
Narendra Shirodkar 25,593
WTA, 2001 Philip N.Rodrigues --
Baleshwar Rai --
S.N Phadte 46,874
ITB, 2002 N. Suryanarayana 1,20,325
Dubai, 2002 N. Surayanarayana 20,314
Arlindo Pereira 20,314
Moscow, 2002 Mickey Pacheco --
N Suryanarayana 98,083
WTM, 2002 Mickey Pacheco --
N.Suranarayana 42,143
ITB, 2003 N. Suranarayana 1,70,966
Moscow, 2003 Deelip Karekar 1,32,293
N.Suryanarayana 53,805
SN Phadte 61,905
Dubai, 2003 Mickey Pacheco --
N.Suryanarayana 17,736
Crish Phadte 17,592
Moscow, 2003 N. Suranarayana 79,187
WTM, 2003 Mickey Pacheco --
N.Suranarayana 1,16,682
Fernanda Vales 69,341
Lisbon, 2004, Madrid, 2004 Pamela Mascarhenas 1,78,365
ITB N. Suranarayana 1,04,675
Moscow, 2004 N. Suranarayana 61,486
Dubai, 2004 N. Suranarayana 80,085
Moscow, 2004 Pamela Mascarhenas 65,630
Narendra Shirodkar 1,10,831
WTM, 2004 Pamela Mascarhenas 1,13,225
Rajesh Kale 1,13,171
Lisbon, 2005 AC Pereira 66,597
Jasmin Fernandes 66,572
Spain, 2005 Elvis Gomes 87,479
VGS
Navelkar 87,479
ITB, 2005 Pamela Mascarhenas 1,19,656
TR Rivonkar 1,04,792
Fernanda Vales 1,04,758
Dubai Elvis Gomes 32,782
VGS Navelkar 34,963
Bhichurao Naik 34,921
Beijing, 2005 Wilfred De Souza --
Sandip Jacques 98,263
Arun Prabhu 1,10,280
WTM, 2005 Wilfred De Souza --
Pamela Mascarhenas 1,15,465
Ramesh Morajkar 1,16,265
Lisbon, 2006 Sandip Jacques 2,09,881
VGS Navelkar 2,09,881
Madrid, 2006 Sandip Jacques Added above
VGS Navelkar
ITB, 2006 Pamela Mascarhenas 1,29,908
Ganesh Teli 1,29,872
Dubai, 2006 Sandip Jacques 35,236
VGS Navelkar 35,236
London, 2006 Sandip Jacques 84,511
Sydney, 2006 Wilfred De Souza --
Arlindo Pereira 1,22,625
Beijing, 2006 Wilfred De Souza --
Pamela Mascarhenas 83,633
Ganesh Teli 84,378
Moscow, 2006 Wilfred De Souza
Arlindo Pereira 1,00,774
Rodlin Mascarhenas 1,38,035
St. Petersburg, 2006 Wilfred De Souza
Arlindo Pereira
Rodlin Mascarhenas Added above
WTM, 2006 Wilfred De Souza --
Sandip Jacques 67,378
Srikant Phadte 1,11,167
Lisbon, 2007 Rajesh Kale 1,79,191
Madrid, 2007 Rajesh Kale 1,79,191
ITB, 2007 Pamela Mascarenhas 1,37,503
Fernanda Vales 1,48,065
Dubai, 2007 JR Gracias 57,438
Gajanan Mahale 57,387
New York, 2007 Mickey Pacheco --
JP Singh 72, 738
Arvind Loliyekar
Last week you read about Anupam Saraph, a government IT advisor flying abroad twice on purported knowledge seeking missions as early as 2002/2003. It continued this month when the IT Minister Dayanand Narvekar flew to China ostensibly on yet another learning mission when instead he could have called up top consultants from any corner of the planet and they would have eagerly rushed to Goa to do business.
Narvekar's mission is a double loss for the taxpayer because it had to be aborted halfway. This is not to say had the junket continued or extended for that matter the taxpayer would have benefited. Point is also, what did the government learn from Saraph's tours of the US, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore?
Or is it really the blood lust-likeness for flying off on junkets and freebies that matters only because leave alone Larsen & Toubro, the Indian construction conglomerate that built the Hyderabad Information Technology and Engineering Consultancy City (HITEC City) –there is a
long, long list of consultants that would have readily advised Narvekar. Or for that matter the builders of any one of Bangalore's many parks like Electronics City, a 330 acre spread exclusively for electronics industries India's leaders -would at the drop of a hat fly in with greater knowledge than the copycat Chinese and give advice suited to Indian conditions. The list is endless really from Chandigarh to Chennai. You don't have to across international borders
for that, it can be had around the corner.
Mind you, after Narvekar's flight was forced to turn back (in a manner of speaking) by surprisingly Babush Monsarette of all people, Narvekar himself astonishingly divulged that all 18 IT Habitat plots were already allotted and a regulatory body appointed to oversee the project. So, why fly off to China then?
The question really is who are our most frequent flyers. Here's just one list of this growing tribe who have gotten cleverer recently and have begun literally to live off government corporations when pushed for solutions. So, when the ministry or department can't foot the bill, in ride the willing corporations. Thing is under the RTI where expenses are not incurred by the department asked the information, the department is not obliged to give it or point you in the right direction. Therefore some of the missing information below supplied by the Tourism Department. In fact a few fortunate MLAs who were not blessed additionally with ministerial berths have now found a new way to scam the taxpayer. They draw their petrol allowances as MLAs, Parliamentary Secretaries and as corporation chairman. That's the Speed way to get petrol, if you get my drift.
On the wings of fancy Destination Frequent flyer Cost to you
World Travel Mart, London AC Pereira/Satira Dias 60,000
ITB, Berlin, 2000 SS Keshkamat 52,181
Sydney, 2000 Victoria Fernandes --
SS Keshkamat 51,598
Kathmandu, 2000 Victoria Fernandes --
SS Keshkamat 17,255
Vallabh Navelkar --
ITB, 2001 Baleshwar Rai, CS --
SN Phadte 1,08,322
Dubai, 2001 Philip N. Rodrigues --
SS Keshkamat 25,050
Narendra Shirodkar 25,593
WTA, 2001 Philip N.Rodrigues --
Baleshwar Rai --
S.N Phadte 46,874
ITB, 2002 N. Suryanarayana 1,20,325
Dubai, 2002 N. Surayanarayana 20,314
Arlindo Pereira 20,314
Moscow, 2002 Mickey Pacheco --
N Suryanarayana 98,083
WTM, 2002 Mickey Pacheco --
N.Suranarayana 42,143
ITB, 2003 N. Suranarayana 1,70,966
Moscow, 2003 Deelip Karekar 1,32,293
N.Suryanarayana 53,805
SN Phadte 61,905
Dubai, 2003 Mickey Pacheco --
N.Suryanarayana 17,736
Crish Phadte 17,592
Moscow, 2003 N. Suranarayana 79,187
WTM, 2003 Mickey Pacheco --
N.Suranarayana 1,16,682
Fernanda Vales 69,341
Lisbon, 2004, Madrid, 2004 Pamela Mascarhenas 1,78,365
ITB N. Suranarayana 1,04,675
Moscow, 2004 N. Suranarayana 61,486
Dubai, 2004 N. Suranarayana 80,085
Moscow, 2004 Pamela Mascarhenas 65,630
Narendra Shirodkar 1,10,831
WTM, 2004 Pamela Mascarhenas 1,13,225
Rajesh Kale 1,13,171
Lisbon, 2005 AC Pereira 66,597
Jasmin Fernandes 66,572
Spain, 2005 Elvis Gomes 87,479
VGS
Navelkar 87,479
ITB, 2005 Pamela Mascarhenas 1,19,656
TR Rivonkar 1,04,792
Fernanda Vales 1,04,758
Dubai Elvis Gomes 32,782
VGS Navelkar 34,963
Bhichurao Naik 34,921
Beijing, 2005 Wilfred De Souza --
Sandip Jacques 98,263
Arun Prabhu 1,10,280
WTM, 2005 Wilfred De Souza --
Pamela Mascarhenas 1,15,465
Ramesh Morajkar 1,16,265
Lisbon, 2006 Sandip Jacques 2,09,881
VGS Navelkar 2,09,881
Madrid, 2006 Sandip Jacques Added above
VGS Navelkar
ITB, 2006 Pamela Mascarhenas 1,29,908
Ganesh Teli 1,29,872
Dubai, 2006 Sandip Jacques 35,236
VGS Navelkar 35,236
London, 2006 Sandip Jacques 84,511
Sydney, 2006 Wilfred De Souza --
Arlindo Pereira 1,22,625
Beijing, 2006 Wilfred De Souza --
Pamela Mascarhenas 83,633
Ganesh Teli 84,378
Moscow, 2006 Wilfred De Souza
Arlindo Pereira 1,00,774
Rodlin Mascarhenas 1,38,035
St. Petersburg, 2006 Wilfred De Souza
Arlindo Pereira
Rodlin Mascarhenas Added above
WTM, 2006 Wilfred De Souza --
Sandip Jacques 67,378
Srikant Phadte 1,11,167
Lisbon, 2007 Rajesh Kale 1,79,191
Madrid, 2007 Rajesh Kale 1,79,191
ITB, 2007 Pamela Mascarenhas 1,37,503
Fernanda Vales 1,48,065
Dubai, 2007 JR Gracias 57,438
Gajanan Mahale 57,387
New York, 2007 Mickey Pacheco --
JP Singh 72, 738
Arvind Loliyekar
November 19, 2007
That sinking feeling
The owner of Jaisu Shipping, the mediocre contractor awarded the task of re-floating and towing the River Princess through an equally dubious contractual guarantee upon which the firm must forfeit a security deposit of between Rs5-5.5 cr intends to stay afloat somehow even though he can't help the sunken Princess. The ship was to be removed in 180 days ie before 20.04.07. Now, it turns out Jaisu had a separate agreement with the Tourism Department on non-interference because frequent inspections it said would interrupt its operations.
The department's consultant Indian Registrar of Shipping whom it agreed to pay a disproportionate fee of Rs25 lakh it is said also misled the department taking it for a royal ride. A day before the expiry date of 20.04.07, IRS submitted a report saying the salvage was on course. After 20.04.07 the maximum permissible extension for Jaisu was 30 days but the contract stipulated it had to be asked for before the date.
Sources say Jaisu routinely hoodwinked the government never giving it specific or honest information asking for an extension only on 02.04.07. On 05.07.07 at a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary Jaisu verbally declared it incurred an expenditure of Rs2.5 cr and the detail recorded in the minutes of the meeting. A few days later however it produced a chartered accountant certified Rs19.5 cr expenditure statement. Something's on so keep watching this space. And while you wait keep adding up the Rs1 lakh per day contractual fine Jaisu has to pay.
Swept away like dirt
Big hoteliers, all Mumbaites and Delhites bulldozing sand dunes and building down to the sea is a reality from Agonda to Baga. What is saddening despite the inevitability of Goa being sold lock, stock and barrel that too for black money is the way the real aam aadmi like Justiano Pereira, a discernibly poor and genuine farmer of Adaowaddo, Majorda are swept aside like dirt. Humble as they come, Justiano's tormentor is the rich and powerful Sea Bird Resorts whose director Nirav Parekh, is based in Nariman Point, Mumbai. Parekh bought 23,754 sq mt from Rui Fernandes Leao to build his huge hotel.
Justiano and others are now fighting to protect and retain a common well (their only water source) built with RDA funds at a cost of Rs23117 by the Majorda-Utorda-Calata Village Panchayat that now falls in Parekh's property. Worse a traditional pathway has almost entirely been taken over by Parekh blocking the route villagers used for decades.
On 03.10.06 villagers wrote to the Sarpanch placing their objections to passing the construction plans, if planned by blocking off the traditional pathway. The Sarpanch issued Sea Bird a show-cause notice dated 05/10/06. But Parekh like all Mumbai and Delhi hoteliers bent on taking over Goa's protected (hypothetically) coast began building in March 2007 completing blocking off the traditional path and well. Amid complaints lodged with the Colva police and the Village Panchayat of Majorda-Calata-Utorda by them no action was taken to stop Parekh.
The power of money
Parekh effectively cordoned off and covered an ancient nullah that was a channel for rainwater flowing through the fields into the sea. The nullah, Parekh proposed to construct in concrete as an open drain in his construction plans passed by the SGPDA on 25.01.2007. Parekh's other proposal to install narrow drainpipes to replace the natural nullah and a huge wall being built around the property will flood the area during the monsoon. Parekh's punishing plans for a once beautiful hamlet also includes locating his garbage dump behind his hotel and next to the homes of Justiano and the villagers.
The TCPs NOC to Sea Bird clearly states, "the proposed development shall not block any existing traditional path passing through the property." It says again, "The pathway of 2 mt in width as shown on the site plan shall be maintained to the satisfaction of the Village Panchayat." Sea Bird as per its approved plan is building a total of four buildings and has already said it intends to rise above the permitted 3.5 mts height. With a total planned construction of 8416.47 sq mt Sea Bird will make a sea change in idyllic Adaowaddo.
Aam aadmi concern?
Incredibly, from the licenses Justiano obtained under RTI the plans were approved and signed by the town planner, senior town planner, chief town planner, secretary (TCP) the minister (TCP) and by Pratapsing Rane in the blurry of a few days in January 2007. One of them, it is difficult to say who (in the plans these remarks are closest to the initials of the chief town planner) wrote this: "In addition, the applicant has undertaken to enhance approach roads, parking space and to enhance greenery in the areas." None of them have agreed so far to hear out Justiano's petitions that forced him to go to court.
Justiano says the town planner informed him there were no restrictions on the distance to be maintained between commercial and residential users. "However, minimum setbacks are required to be maintained as per prevailing norms." No dimensions were mentioned in the reply that Justiano wanted. In another letter in fact the senior town planner informed him that Sea Bird's licenses was issued on the basis of the old RP 2001.
Xenophobia
For the xenophobic and myopic who do not want foreigners to buy homes in Goa never mind the fact that Indians have taken over at least two countries under the United Nations fold and have become from Presidents and Prime Ministers to Premiers and Governors here's food for thought. The Hindustan Times reported that Harish Chheda, 38, of Borivli, Mumbai bought 2,500 sq ft of land for Rs11 lakh about 25 kms from central London. With the stock market on steroids more and more Indians are buying property in the UK. Chheda said for Rs11 lakh he would get "othing" in Mumbai. Mahindra Parmar of Pune bought his son a plot outside London and HT quoted experts as saying a two-bedroom service apartment in Phuket costs Rs40 lakh implying Indians could head there next. Already, the UK-based property consultants Astra Mayfai has an office in Delhi and is heading next for Mumbai. This only means more Indians will now buy property in the UK.
And foreign guest workers
That's not all. The darling of the stock exchange and media's pride RIL has a 4,000-strong Chinese workforce working for its gas pipeline project and Jamnagar refinery and wants to hire more. Yes, from the country that attacked us, occupies a bit of India and now wants Arunachal Pradesh as well.
The owner of Jaisu Shipping, the mediocre contractor awarded the task of re-floating and towing the River Princess through an equally dubious contractual guarantee upon which the firm must forfeit a security deposit of between Rs5-5.5 cr intends to stay afloat somehow even though he can't help the sunken Princess. The ship was to be removed in 180 days ie before 20.04.07. Now, it turns out Jaisu had a separate agreement with the Tourism Department on non-interference because frequent inspections it said would interrupt its operations.
The department's consultant Indian Registrar of Shipping whom it agreed to pay a disproportionate fee of Rs25 lakh it is said also misled the department taking it for a royal ride. A day before the expiry date of 20.04.07, IRS submitted a report saying the salvage was on course. After 20.04.07 the maximum permissible extension for Jaisu was 30 days but the contract stipulated it had to be asked for before the date.
Sources say Jaisu routinely hoodwinked the government never giving it specific or honest information asking for an extension only on 02.04.07. On 05.07.07 at a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary Jaisu verbally declared it incurred an expenditure of Rs2.5 cr and the detail recorded in the minutes of the meeting. A few days later however it produced a chartered accountant certified Rs19.5 cr expenditure statement. Something's on so keep watching this space. And while you wait keep adding up the Rs1 lakh per day contractual fine Jaisu has to pay.
Swept away like dirt
Big hoteliers, all Mumbaites and Delhites bulldozing sand dunes and building down to the sea is a reality from Agonda to Baga. What is saddening despite the inevitability of Goa being sold lock, stock and barrel that too for black money is the way the real aam aadmi like Justiano Pereira, a discernibly poor and genuine farmer of Adaowaddo, Majorda are swept aside like dirt. Humble as they come, Justiano's tormentor is the rich and powerful Sea Bird Resorts whose director Nirav Parekh, is based in Nariman Point, Mumbai. Parekh bought 23,754 sq mt from Rui Fernandes Leao to build his huge hotel.
Justiano and others are now fighting to protect and retain a common well (their only water source) built with RDA funds at a cost of Rs23117 by the Majorda-Utorda-Calata Village Panchayat that now falls in Parekh's property. Worse a traditional pathway has almost entirely been taken over by Parekh blocking the route villagers used for decades.
On 03.10.06 villagers wrote to the Sarpanch placing their objections to passing the construction plans, if planned by blocking off the traditional pathway. The Sarpanch issued Sea Bird a show-cause notice dated 05/10/06. But Parekh like all Mumbai and Delhi hoteliers bent on taking over Goa's protected (hypothetically) coast began building in March 2007 completing blocking off the traditional path and well. Amid complaints lodged with the Colva police and the Village Panchayat of Majorda-Calata-Utorda by them no action was taken to stop Parekh.
The power of money
Parekh effectively cordoned off and covered an ancient nullah that was a channel for rainwater flowing through the fields into the sea. The nullah, Parekh proposed to construct in concrete as an open drain in his construction plans passed by the SGPDA on 25.01.2007. Parekh's other proposal to install narrow drainpipes to replace the natural nullah and a huge wall being built around the property will flood the area during the monsoon. Parekh's punishing plans for a once beautiful hamlet also includes locating his garbage dump behind his hotel and next to the homes of Justiano and the villagers.
The TCPs NOC to Sea Bird clearly states, "the proposed development shall not block any existing traditional path passing through the property." It says again, "The pathway of 2 mt in width as shown on the site plan shall be maintained to the satisfaction of the Village Panchayat." Sea Bird as per its approved plan is building a total of four buildings and has already said it intends to rise above the permitted 3.5 mts height. With a total planned construction of 8416.47 sq mt Sea Bird will make a sea change in idyllic Adaowaddo.
Aam aadmi concern?
Incredibly, from the licenses Justiano obtained under RTI the plans were approved and signed by the town planner, senior town planner, chief town planner, secretary (TCP) the minister (TCP) and by Pratapsing Rane in the blurry of a few days in January 2007. One of them, it is difficult to say who (in the plans these remarks are closest to the initials of the chief town planner) wrote this: "In addition, the applicant has undertaken to enhance approach roads, parking space and to enhance greenery in the areas." None of them have agreed so far to hear out Justiano's petitions that forced him to go to court.
Justiano says the town planner informed him there were no restrictions on the distance to be maintained between commercial and residential users. "However, minimum setbacks are required to be maintained as per prevailing norms." No dimensions were mentioned in the reply that Justiano wanted. In another letter in fact the senior town planner informed him that Sea Bird's licenses was issued on the basis of the old RP 2001.
Xenophobia
For the xenophobic and myopic who do not want foreigners to buy homes in Goa never mind the fact that Indians have taken over at least two countries under the United Nations fold and have become from Presidents and Prime Ministers to Premiers and Governors here's food for thought. The Hindustan Times reported that Harish Chheda, 38, of Borivli, Mumbai bought 2,500 sq ft of land for Rs11 lakh about 25 kms from central London. With the stock market on steroids more and more Indians are buying property in the UK. Chheda said for Rs11 lakh he would get "othing" in Mumbai. Mahindra Parmar of Pune bought his son a plot outside London and HT quoted experts as saying a two-bedroom service apartment in Phuket costs Rs40 lakh implying Indians could head there next. Already, the UK-based property consultants Astra Mayfai has an office in Delhi and is heading next for Mumbai. This only means more Indians will now buy property in the UK.
And foreign guest workers
That's not all. The darling of the stock exchange and media's pride RIL has a 4,000-strong Chinese workforce working for its gas pipeline project and Jamnagar refinery and wants to hire more. Yes, from the country that attacked us, occupies a bit of India and now wants Arunachal Pradesh as well.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Wasted tax payers money
1) Goa's flying circus
What was the significance of Abade Faria, the hypnotist and Goa's onlycontribution towards the globalization of science, pointing earthwards? Some say he was indicating our politicians (before the Secretariat was shifted) stay grounded. True or false, it appears our politicians interpreted it as "fly, don't ground yourselves." Eye Spy will attempt to tell you how seriously our politicians have takentheir postulation in a series on Goa's flying circus beginning with those who govern the Goa Tourism Development Corporation.
Frequent flyer Destination When Cost
Pramod Shetye, MD London 09-18.11.01 2,26,815
Sadanand Shet Tanavade,
Chairman Dubai 05-11.05.03 56,909
Promod Shetye, MD Dubai 05-11.05.03 61,758
Sadanand Shet Tanavade
Chairman Dubai 04-07.05.04 97,542
Promod Shetye, MD Dubai 04-07.05.04 97,792
Fatima'Sa,Chairperson Portugal/
Spain 18-29.01.06 2,43,638
Armand Duarte,
Manager(Tours) P&S 18-29.01.06 1,87,701
Bernard Araujo, artist London 02-04.06.06 1,00,483
Sanjit Rodrigues, MD P&S 21-06.02.07 3,13,554
Fatima D'Sa,
Chairperson Germany 07-11.03.07 2,17,690
Total 16,03,882
Flying aimlessly
Sadanand S. Tanavade was chairman from 09.07.02 to 13.02.05 and FatimaD'Sa from 16.11.05 to 23.09.07. None of the above persons with the singular exception of Sanjit Rodrigues (and who has actually done agood job of consolidating certain GTDC events and putting Mayem and Diwar on the tourist map) are articulate or even have a decent command over English that forums like the International Tourismus Borse in Berlin would want to hear. For that matter to whom do you sell Goa in Dubai whose hotels have the highest room tariffs in the world and therefore attract mostly upper-end tourists.In fact some of the travel industry ask that politicians keep away from the Tourism Department and GTDC and leave them to be run by professional bureaucrats like Sandeep Jacques and Sanjit Rodrigues and not shunt them out every time a new minister takes over the tourism ministry.
The industry in fact says GTDCs wish list includes desperately needed funds to refurbish some of its properties that need immediate attention. Sanjit Rodrigues succeeded in doing some refurbishment at Mira Mar, Calangute and Colva and sources say if he stays on as GTDCs MD has plans that have the full backing of the Finance Department to build a desperately needed pay car park, resuscitation center for drowning victims with ambulance, toilets and a unique advertising stall in Baga on a huge tract of land GTDC owns in Baga that is slowly being encroached on. The industry says also since attending global tourism marts is unavoidable in a highly competitive industry, Goa has to be represented but only by articulate professional bureaucrats, because these marts are the centerstage where the cream of the industry interact and an opportunity for intelligence gathering as well.
Magnificent men (an woman) in their flying machines
And if you are wondering how Wilfred De Souza, Francisco Sardinha (who tried to sell Goa to the Aussies) and Victoria Fernandes who tried to sell Goa in Nepal do not figure in this list, it is probably because the Tourism Department footed their travel bills. According to Bush Miranda Goa's stall at ITB -07 in Berlin was well designed but had only 10 tables that were mostly empty and not occupied. The VCD the Goa delegation carried was made for an ordinary29" TV and therefore did not work on the Plasma TV installed there. The stall had one window that was used to distribute literature. Behind this window the TV was screening two VCDs, one depicting Goa as a tourist destination and the other medical tourism, but this had no literature to back Goa's medical progress if any or on Goa's hospitals.
Leave GTDC to the pros
In my RTI request I asked if the chairman or officials were given specific tasks on their foreign forays, instead of answering appropriately, a letter written by the former Tourism Director Sandip Jacques to the Government of India seeking permission for Fatima D'Sa, Pamela Pereira, Dy. Director Tourism and Fernanda Vales, Information Asst, Department of Information to travel to Germany was enclosed! Expecting the answers to be fuzzy (for no fault of the hard-pressed clerks/officers answering them) -I asked if the chairman reported his/her achievements abroad to the Tourism Minister. The answer was: not applicable. Were any MoUs or agreements signed as a result of the foreign visits. The answer: no. Insiders in fact that say politicians drag along minor officials only to cover for themselves.
Ticket to fly
That the Tourism Minister and GTDC chairman's posts are the ticket to ride was evident when Micky Pacheco flew to New York in a hurry to propagate Goa accompanied by the Calangute MLA Agnelo Fernandes. Ditto for Fatima D'Sa and Sadanand Shet Tanavade. Even as you read this Micky Pacheco will fly to London to attend another global tourism mart despite the Goa government's 'cooling off period' ban for three months between two international flights.
2) Goa's flying circus
I promised a series on Goa's flying circus earlier after the first .Enjoy this one because approval of these junkets at the cost of taxpayer's money is being withheld as the MLAs and government officials did not have the mandatory sanction of the Government ofIndia. Rajesh Singh despite not being employed by the government was made Director of Information by Manohar Parrikar in return for penning scurrilous anti-Catholic writings that were religious carried by an English daily. Singh a non-Goan who struck it rich in this land of opportunity earlier sold fire-fighting equipment in Vasco da Gama and was a part time journalist as well. Used by the BJP to fire up emotions instead, he is one of the many to fly to Cannes on the pretext ofstudying how the Cannes Film Festival is held and which for inexplicable reasons continues to reccur every year.
Name Date funds advanced Destination Amount (Rs)
Shaik Hassan Haroon 10.09.92 Bahamas 2,80,000
Shaik Hassan Haroon 20.08.93 Cyprus 1,65,000
Dominic Fernandes 06.02.97 Singapore, Malaysia,
Hong Kong 44,893
Churchill Alemao 03.1199 London, New Zealand 54,000
Ramrao Dessai 30.01.02 New Zealand, Thailand 72,000
Anupam Saraph,
Advisor (IT) 11.10.02 Australia 1,23,000
Rajesh Singh 09.05.03 Cannes 1,75,000
Ramrao Dessai 14.10.03 USA, Canada,
Hong Kong, Singapore 2,24,000
Anupam Saraph 10.10.03 USA, Canada, Hong
Kong, Singapore 2,80,000
Francisco D'Souza 23.10.03 Canada 2,24,000
Jayshree Raghuraman 12.05.04 Cannes 29,700
Sanjit Rodrigues 12.05.04 Cannes 29,700
Pandurang Madkaikar 17.05.04 Cannes 29,700
VGS Navelkar, Asst.
Director,Tourism 13.01.06 Portugal, Spain 1,95,294
R. Kothandaraman,
Secretary, Legislature 23.01.02 Maldives 25,200
Karl Vaz 14.06.06 Germany, Austria 3,19,640
Gandhi Henriques,
PS to Vaz 14.06.06 Germany, Austria 1,99,223
Alban Couto,
advisor to Government 27.06.06 Macau 15,000
Francisco Sardinha 31.05.07 Abuja 2,626
According to sources and after the tight-fisted finance ministry recently objected to Goa's frequent flyers, politicians have now began to get various corporations to pay for their foreign junkets.
3) The money circus
This one should remain in memory for posterity. According to Aires Rodrigues the Advocate General SS Kantak is paid on an average 33 times more than the salary of the Chief Justice of India who earns Rs33,000 per month. In other words India's smallest State has the highest paid AG. According to Aires who sourced the RTI the AG was paid Rs.2,33,94,500 between 01.01.2006 to June 2007.
Date Professional fee Retainer
Jan 06 599000 19500
Feb 06 368000 19500
Mar 06 497000 19500
Apr 06 416000 19500
May 06 116000 19500
Jun 06 395000 19500
Jul 06 494000 19500
Aug 06 431000 19500
Sep 06 848000 38500
Oct 06 952000 38500
Nov 06 1136000 38500
Dec 06 1040000 38500
Jan 07 1064000 38500
Feb 07 1168000 38500
Mar 07 1960000 38500
Apr 07 1232000 38500
May 07 64000 38500
Jun 07 608000 38500
Total 1,33,88,000 5,41,000
These two figures add up to the Rs1,39,29,000.
Mind you while the AG was being paid this for god's only knows what, he was also being paid a retainer that was doubled. Yet, despite the retainer, the AG got paid these astronomical amounts. The fees paid to him were revised on April 1, 2005 (a contemptuous joke on the tax payer you think?) and as a result between June 2005 and August 2006 he was paid the arrears ofRs.91,90,00. During this period his retainer too was revised and he was paid arrears of Rs,2,75,500. The two figures add up to Rs.94,65,500. Rs1,39,29,000 and Rs94,65,500 add up to Rs2,33,94,500.Why the retainer was revised when the AG was paid such astronomical fees can happen only in Goa.
Dhavlikar duo are expensive to maintain
Earlier Eye Spy exposed how the Advocate General Subodh Kantak was paid a whopping Rs2,33,94,500 in fees by the law department. In a fresh RTI application I filed to the Goa Legislature Secretariat I have new information that the Speaker also engaged the services of "Sr. Advocate Surendra Desai, Advocate TR Andhyarujina and Advocate A.Subhashini" to fight the disqualification petition against the two MGP MLAs Sudin and Deepak Dhavlikar in the Supreme Court. Desai was paid Rs9 lakh, Andhyarujina Rs5 lakh and Subhashini Rs1.21 lakh. That's a total of Rs15,21,000. Asked "what was the basis or criteria followed while making these payments" –the RTI answer was "payments have been made to the advocates on the directions of the Speaker after obtaining necessary sanction from the government." So, there you are, even the RTI needs fine-tuning. For the moment the Dhavlikar duo are turning out to be a luxury Goa cannot afford.
4) Deep Thinking
E-Thinx Infocom owned by Zahid shroff whose outfit Mahiti Ghar runs 13 such units across Goa is too clever by half for the likes of the Directorate of Information Technology, the IT Minister and the hard-pressed Finance Department. Clever E-Thinx signed an agreement on12.01.04 to set up 30 Mahiti Ghars to provide services like issue of FI & XIV, birth and death certificates, driving licenses etc but could achieve neither objective fully.
The nearly one-sided agreement entitled the firm to free government accommodation, a vehicle to manage all the Mahiti Ghars, telephones, leased lines, computers, printers, UPS, modems etc etc.The agreement also stipulated payment of Rs20,000 per month for the first five Mahiti Ghars, Rs3000 per Mahiti Ghar per month for the nextten Mahiti Ghars. Rs2000 per Mahiti Ghar per month for the next fiveMahiti Ghars and Rs1000 per Mahiti Ghar per month for the next ten Mahiti Ghars. The agreement also incorporated a termination clause in which either side could quit after giving 30 days notice.
After the new IT Minister brought in the more experienced 3i Infotech Limted toreplace E-Thinx as part of his declared wide-ranging and more sophisticated approach to citizens' services and sent the firm atermination notice, E-Thinx dug its heels in with the reportedsympathy of the Chief Secretary and refused to quit.
Delaying the inevitable
E-Thinx refuses to quit despite the fact that the agreements beginning January/February 2004 for the Mahiti Ghars established in Bicholim,Valpoi, KTC bus stand, Panjim, Sanquelim, Rivona and Canacona ended in January/February 2006. To shore up its refusal to wind up theCanada-based Shroff submitted a bill for Rs348 lakh he claimed was financial compensation owed to him. In a separate demand for paymen the claimed another Rs1 cr as concept development charges, whichsources say is farcical, intentionally done as a possible futuretrade-off that could be prolonged by protracted negotiations. Because far superior versions of citizens' services have been implemented inseveral States before. After one such meeting held to negotiate terms attended without forewarning by a lawyer who signed the meetings minutes, Shroff wrote to the DIT claiming his lawyer signed the minutes without reading them.
Official concern
The official concern is which of the two or five-year contracts(though one set of agreements expired) deserve government financial support or whether E-Thinx should be asked to manage with its own finances. To decide the DIT and Finance Department recommend that a committee be formed to investigate and decide. According to sources E-Thinx refuses officials access to any of its accounting records and has not produced records of personnel hired or of the rent it claims it pays. Even its Rs348 lakh claim was not supported by vouchers or certified by a chartered accountant. On the contrary officials say the government can claim from E-Thinx power consumption charges, interest dues on delayed payments owed to it, transportation charges and nearlyRs25 lakh as its revenue share towards issue of Form I & XIV.
Audit concerns
There is concern also on whether the government's internal audit orthe CAG audit will ever approve a proposal on the table for E-Thinx to submit only an affidavit testifying to all personnel salaries, administrative costs, office rent, rentals for computers and as the firm claims rentals paid to private house owners.
5) That sinking feeling
The owner of Jaisu Shipping, the mediocre contractor awarded the task of re-floating and towing the River Princess through an equally dubious contractual guarantee upon which the firm must forfeit a security deposit of between Rs5-5.5 cr intends to stay afloat somehow even though he can't help the sunken Princess. The ship was to be removed in 180 days ie before 20.04.07. Now, it turns out Jaisu had a separate agreement with the Tourism Department on non-interference because frequent inspections it said would interrupt its operations. The department's consultant Indian Registrar of Shipping whom it agreed to pay a disproportionate fee of Rs25 lakh it is said also misled the department taking it for a royal ride. A day before the expiry date of 20.04.07, IRS submitted a report saying the salvage was on course. After 20.04.07 the maximum permissible extension for Jaisu was 30 days but the contract stipulated it had to be asked for before the date.
Sources say Jaisu routinely hoodwinked the government never giving it specific or honest information asking for an extension only on 02.04.07. On 05.07.07 at a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary Jaisu verbally declared it incurred an expenditure of Rs2.5 cr and the detail recorded in the minutes of the meeting. A few days later however it produced a chartered accountant-certified Rs19.5 cr expenditure statement. Something's on so keep watching this space. And while you wait keep adding up the Rs1 lakh per day contractual fine Jaisu has to pay.
6) Money for nothing
According to the grapevine the latest body to try and hook itself to the gravy train are the three communidade administrators who have asked the government for an annual grant of Rs90 lakh to pay staff salaries that they claim will be reimbursed from the 'derrama' - a formof revenue communidades earn. The problem is, many communidades stopped paying the derrama though some communidades have invested crores of rupees in bank fixed deposits. Not paying the administrators the 'derrama' has hit their revenue earnings. Among the objections raised within the government against giving the grant revolve around the fact that employees who retired from the offices of these administrators continue to draw government pensions though they were not government employees and therefore did not contribute to the government's pension fund established in 2005.
The government has been paying their pensions from the early 90s when the Communidades stopped paying pensions.In south Goa 42 of the 90 communidades owe the government Rs1.49 cr in dues. In the north an estimated Rs60 lakh has to be reimbursed by the communidades annually but is not. According to the government if the'derrama' collected under section 5 of article 125 of the Code ofCommunidade is paid by the communidades, the administrators would have no problem paying staff salaries. Also, agriculture land is being used for non-agriculture purposes to the immense benefit of only a few persons government officials pointed out. Sources even claim the government has little or no inventory of communidade property, audited communidade accounts and annual financial statements.
And finally this bit of tragic-comic news. It appears that it might just be possible that the Code of Communidade was not properly translated into English or was translated verbatim by an inexperienced translator thus conveying the wrong meaning where certain rules are to be enforced. In fact the request for the huge grant may have finally prodded the government to recover its dues including pensions from the communidades and generally investigate the working of the communidades.
What was the significance of Abade Faria, the hypnotist and Goa's onlycontribution towards the globalization of science, pointing earthwards? Some say he was indicating our politicians (before the Secretariat was shifted) stay grounded. True or false, it appears our politicians interpreted it as "fly, don't ground yourselves." Eye Spy will attempt to tell you how seriously our politicians have takentheir postulation in a series on Goa's flying circus beginning with those who govern the Goa Tourism Development Corporation.
Frequent flyer Destination When Cost
Pramod Shetye, MD London 09-18.11.01 2,26,815
Sadanand Shet Tanavade,
Chairman Dubai 05-11.05.03 56,909
Promod Shetye, MD Dubai 05-11.05.03 61,758
Sadanand Shet Tanavade
Chairman Dubai 04-07.05.04 97,542
Promod Shetye, MD Dubai 04-07.05.04 97,792
Fatima'Sa,Chairperson Portugal/
Spain 18-29.01.06 2,43,638
Armand Duarte,
Manager(Tours) P&S 18-29.01.06 1,87,701
Bernard Araujo, artist London 02-04.06.06 1,00,483
Sanjit Rodrigues, MD P&S 21-06.02.07 3,13,554
Fatima D'Sa,
Chairperson Germany 07-11.03.07 2,17,690
Total 16,03,882
Flying aimlessly
Sadanand S. Tanavade was chairman from 09.07.02 to 13.02.05 and FatimaD'Sa from 16.11.05 to 23.09.07. None of the above persons with the singular exception of Sanjit Rodrigues (and who has actually done agood job of consolidating certain GTDC events and putting Mayem and Diwar on the tourist map) are articulate or even have a decent command over English that forums like the International Tourismus Borse in Berlin would want to hear. For that matter to whom do you sell Goa in Dubai whose hotels have the highest room tariffs in the world and therefore attract mostly upper-end tourists.In fact some of the travel industry ask that politicians keep away from the Tourism Department and GTDC and leave them to be run by professional bureaucrats like Sandeep Jacques and Sanjit Rodrigues and not shunt them out every time a new minister takes over the tourism ministry.
The industry in fact says GTDCs wish list includes desperately needed funds to refurbish some of its properties that need immediate attention. Sanjit Rodrigues succeeded in doing some refurbishment at Mira Mar, Calangute and Colva and sources say if he stays on as GTDCs MD has plans that have the full backing of the Finance Department to build a desperately needed pay car park, resuscitation center for drowning victims with ambulance, toilets and a unique advertising stall in Baga on a huge tract of land GTDC owns in Baga that is slowly being encroached on. The industry says also since attending global tourism marts is unavoidable in a highly competitive industry, Goa has to be represented but only by articulate professional bureaucrats, because these marts are the centerstage where the cream of the industry interact and an opportunity for intelligence gathering as well.
Magnificent men (an woman) in their flying machines
And if you are wondering how Wilfred De Souza, Francisco Sardinha (who tried to sell Goa to the Aussies) and Victoria Fernandes who tried to sell Goa in Nepal do not figure in this list, it is probably because the Tourism Department footed their travel bills. According to Bush Miranda Goa's stall at ITB -07 in Berlin was well designed but had only 10 tables that were mostly empty and not occupied. The VCD the Goa delegation carried was made for an ordinary29" TV and therefore did not work on the Plasma TV installed there. The stall had one window that was used to distribute literature. Behind this window the TV was screening two VCDs, one depicting Goa as a tourist destination and the other medical tourism, but this had no literature to back Goa's medical progress if any or on Goa's hospitals.
Leave GTDC to the pros
In my RTI request I asked if the chairman or officials were given specific tasks on their foreign forays, instead of answering appropriately, a letter written by the former Tourism Director Sandip Jacques to the Government of India seeking permission for Fatima D'Sa, Pamela Pereira, Dy. Director Tourism and Fernanda Vales, Information Asst, Department of Information to travel to Germany was enclosed! Expecting the answers to be fuzzy (for no fault of the hard-pressed clerks/officers answering them) -I asked if the chairman reported his/her achievements abroad to the Tourism Minister. The answer was: not applicable. Were any MoUs or agreements signed as a result of the foreign visits. The answer: no. Insiders in fact that say politicians drag along minor officials only to cover for themselves.
Ticket to fly
That the Tourism Minister and GTDC chairman's posts are the ticket to ride was evident when Micky Pacheco flew to New York in a hurry to propagate Goa accompanied by the Calangute MLA Agnelo Fernandes. Ditto for Fatima D'Sa and Sadanand Shet Tanavade. Even as you read this Micky Pacheco will fly to London to attend another global tourism mart despite the Goa government's 'cooling off period' ban for three months between two international flights.
2) Goa's flying circus
I promised a series on Goa's flying circus earlier after the first .Enjoy this one because approval of these junkets at the cost of taxpayer's money is being withheld as the MLAs and government officials did not have the mandatory sanction of the Government ofIndia. Rajesh Singh despite not being employed by the government was made Director of Information by Manohar Parrikar in return for penning scurrilous anti-Catholic writings that were religious carried by an English daily. Singh a non-Goan who struck it rich in this land of opportunity earlier sold fire-fighting equipment in Vasco da Gama and was a part time journalist as well. Used by the BJP to fire up emotions instead, he is one of the many to fly to Cannes on the pretext ofstudying how the Cannes Film Festival is held and which for inexplicable reasons continues to reccur every year.
Name Date funds advanced Destination Amount (Rs)
Shaik Hassan Haroon 10.09.92 Bahamas 2,80,000
Shaik Hassan Haroon 20.08.93 Cyprus 1,65,000
Dominic Fernandes 06.02.97 Singapore, Malaysia,
Hong Kong 44,893
Churchill Alemao 03.1199 London, New Zealand 54,000
Ramrao Dessai 30.01.02 New Zealand, Thailand 72,000
Anupam Saraph,
Advisor (IT) 11.10.02 Australia 1,23,000
Rajesh Singh 09.05.03 Cannes 1,75,000
Ramrao Dessai 14.10.03 USA, Canada,
Hong Kong, Singapore 2,24,000
Anupam Saraph 10.10.03 USA, Canada, Hong
Kong, Singapore 2,80,000
Francisco D'Souza 23.10.03 Canada 2,24,000
Jayshree Raghuraman 12.05.04 Cannes 29,700
Sanjit Rodrigues 12.05.04 Cannes 29,700
Pandurang Madkaikar 17.05.04 Cannes 29,700
VGS Navelkar, Asst.
Director,Tourism 13.01.06 Portugal, Spain 1,95,294
R. Kothandaraman,
Secretary, Legislature 23.01.02 Maldives 25,200
Karl Vaz 14.06.06 Germany, Austria 3,19,640
Gandhi Henriques,
PS to Vaz 14.06.06 Germany, Austria 1,99,223
Alban Couto,
advisor to Government 27.06.06 Macau 15,000
Francisco Sardinha 31.05.07 Abuja 2,626
According to sources and after the tight-fisted finance ministry recently objected to Goa's frequent flyers, politicians have now began to get various corporations to pay for their foreign junkets.
3) The money circus
This one should remain in memory for posterity. According to Aires Rodrigues the Advocate General SS Kantak is paid on an average 33 times more than the salary of the Chief Justice of India who earns Rs33,000 per month. In other words India's smallest State has the highest paid AG. According to Aires who sourced the RTI the AG was paid Rs.2,33,94,500 between 01.01.2006 to June 2007.
Date Professional fee Retainer
Jan 06 599000 19500
Feb 06 368000 19500
Mar 06 497000 19500
Apr 06 416000 19500
May 06 116000 19500
Jun 06 395000 19500
Jul 06 494000 19500
Aug 06 431000 19500
Sep 06 848000 38500
Oct 06 952000 38500
Nov 06 1136000 38500
Dec 06 1040000 38500
Jan 07 1064000 38500
Feb 07 1168000 38500
Mar 07 1960000 38500
Apr 07 1232000 38500
May 07 64000 38500
Jun 07 608000 38500
Total 1,33,88,000 5,41,000
These two figures add up to the Rs1,39,29,000.
Mind you while the AG was being paid this for god's only knows what, he was also being paid a retainer that was doubled. Yet, despite the retainer, the AG got paid these astronomical amounts. The fees paid to him were revised on April 1, 2005 (a contemptuous joke on the tax payer you think?) and as a result between June 2005 and August 2006 he was paid the arrears ofRs.91,90,00. During this period his retainer too was revised and he was paid arrears of Rs,2,75,500. The two figures add up to Rs.94,65,500. Rs1,39,29,000 and Rs94,65,500 add up to Rs2,33,94,500.Why the retainer was revised when the AG was paid such astronomical fees can happen only in Goa.
Dhavlikar duo are expensive to maintain
Earlier Eye Spy exposed how the Advocate General Subodh Kantak was paid a whopping Rs2,33,94,500 in fees by the law department. In a fresh RTI application I filed to the Goa Legislature Secretariat I have new information that the Speaker also engaged the services of "Sr. Advocate Surendra Desai, Advocate TR Andhyarujina and Advocate A.Subhashini" to fight the disqualification petition against the two MGP MLAs Sudin and Deepak Dhavlikar in the Supreme Court. Desai was paid Rs9 lakh, Andhyarujina Rs5 lakh and Subhashini Rs1.21 lakh. That's a total of Rs15,21,000. Asked "what was the basis or criteria followed while making these payments" –the RTI answer was "payments have been made to the advocates on the directions of the Speaker after obtaining necessary sanction from the government." So, there you are, even the RTI needs fine-tuning. For the moment the Dhavlikar duo are turning out to be a luxury Goa cannot afford.
4) Deep Thinking
E-Thinx Infocom owned by Zahid shroff whose outfit Mahiti Ghar runs 13 such units across Goa is too clever by half for the likes of the Directorate of Information Technology, the IT Minister and the hard-pressed Finance Department. Clever E-Thinx signed an agreement on12.01.04 to set up 30 Mahiti Ghars to provide services like issue of FI & XIV, birth and death certificates, driving licenses etc but could achieve neither objective fully.
The nearly one-sided agreement entitled the firm to free government accommodation, a vehicle to manage all the Mahiti Ghars, telephones, leased lines, computers, printers, UPS, modems etc etc.The agreement also stipulated payment of Rs20,000 per month for the first five Mahiti Ghars, Rs3000 per Mahiti Ghar per month for the nextten Mahiti Ghars. Rs2000 per Mahiti Ghar per month for the next fiveMahiti Ghars and Rs1000 per Mahiti Ghar per month for the next ten Mahiti Ghars. The agreement also incorporated a termination clause in which either side could quit after giving 30 days notice.
After the new IT Minister brought in the more experienced 3i Infotech Limted toreplace E-Thinx as part of his declared wide-ranging and more sophisticated approach to citizens' services and sent the firm atermination notice, E-Thinx dug its heels in with the reportedsympathy of the Chief Secretary and refused to quit.
Delaying the inevitable
E-Thinx refuses to quit despite the fact that the agreements beginning January/February 2004 for the Mahiti Ghars established in Bicholim,Valpoi, KTC bus stand, Panjim, Sanquelim, Rivona and Canacona ended in January/February 2006. To shore up its refusal to wind up theCanada-based Shroff submitted a bill for Rs348 lakh he claimed was financial compensation owed to him. In a separate demand for paymen the claimed another Rs1 cr as concept development charges, whichsources say is farcical, intentionally done as a possible futuretrade-off that could be prolonged by protracted negotiations. Because far superior versions of citizens' services have been implemented inseveral States before. After one such meeting held to negotiate terms attended without forewarning by a lawyer who signed the meetings minutes, Shroff wrote to the DIT claiming his lawyer signed the minutes without reading them.
Official concern
The official concern is which of the two or five-year contracts(though one set of agreements expired) deserve government financial support or whether E-Thinx should be asked to manage with its own finances. To decide the DIT and Finance Department recommend that a committee be formed to investigate and decide. According to sources E-Thinx refuses officials access to any of its accounting records and has not produced records of personnel hired or of the rent it claims it pays. Even its Rs348 lakh claim was not supported by vouchers or certified by a chartered accountant. On the contrary officials say the government can claim from E-Thinx power consumption charges, interest dues on delayed payments owed to it, transportation charges and nearlyRs25 lakh as its revenue share towards issue of Form I & XIV.
Audit concerns
There is concern also on whether the government's internal audit orthe CAG audit will ever approve a proposal on the table for E-Thinx to submit only an affidavit testifying to all personnel salaries, administrative costs, office rent, rentals for computers and as the firm claims rentals paid to private house owners.
5) That sinking feeling
The owner of Jaisu Shipping, the mediocre contractor awarded the task of re-floating and towing the River Princess through an equally dubious contractual guarantee upon which the firm must forfeit a security deposit of between Rs5-5.5 cr intends to stay afloat somehow even though he can't help the sunken Princess. The ship was to be removed in 180 days ie before 20.04.07. Now, it turns out Jaisu had a separate agreement with the Tourism Department on non-interference because frequent inspections it said would interrupt its operations. The department's consultant Indian Registrar of Shipping whom it agreed to pay a disproportionate fee of Rs25 lakh it is said also misled the department taking it for a royal ride. A day before the expiry date of 20.04.07, IRS submitted a report saying the salvage was on course. After 20.04.07 the maximum permissible extension for Jaisu was 30 days but the contract stipulated it had to be asked for before the date.
Sources say Jaisu routinely hoodwinked the government never giving it specific or honest information asking for an extension only on 02.04.07. On 05.07.07 at a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary Jaisu verbally declared it incurred an expenditure of Rs2.5 cr and the detail recorded in the minutes of the meeting. A few days later however it produced a chartered accountant-certified Rs19.5 cr expenditure statement. Something's on so keep watching this space. And while you wait keep adding up the Rs1 lakh per day contractual fine Jaisu has to pay.
6) Money for nothing
According to the grapevine the latest body to try and hook itself to the gravy train are the three communidade administrators who have asked the government for an annual grant of Rs90 lakh to pay staff salaries that they claim will be reimbursed from the 'derrama' - a formof revenue communidades earn. The problem is, many communidades stopped paying the derrama though some communidades have invested crores of rupees in bank fixed deposits. Not paying the administrators the 'derrama' has hit their revenue earnings. Among the objections raised within the government against giving the grant revolve around the fact that employees who retired from the offices of these administrators continue to draw government pensions though they were not government employees and therefore did not contribute to the government's pension fund established in 2005.
The government has been paying their pensions from the early 90s when the Communidades stopped paying pensions.In south Goa 42 of the 90 communidades owe the government Rs1.49 cr in dues. In the north an estimated Rs60 lakh has to be reimbursed by the communidades annually but is not. According to the government if the'derrama' collected under section 5 of article 125 of the Code ofCommunidade is paid by the communidades, the administrators would have no problem paying staff salaries. Also, agriculture land is being used for non-agriculture purposes to the immense benefit of only a few persons government officials pointed out. Sources even claim the government has little or no inventory of communidade property, audited communidade accounts and annual financial statements.
And finally this bit of tragic-comic news. It appears that it might just be possible that the Code of Communidade was not properly translated into English or was translated verbatim by an inexperienced translator thus conveying the wrong meaning where certain rules are to be enforced. In fact the request for the huge grant may have finally prodded the government to recover its dues including pensions from the communidades and generally investigate the working of the communidades.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Who is really selling Goa
1) Who's buying
The Goa Bachao Abhiyan rightly clarified recently it was not againstnon-Goans in Goa but against the anti-Goan. More particularly, I (notthem) assume Delhi's (in particular) well fixed who spread their money generously bribing every one in sight to get their work done as pronto as possible and any which way even if wrong.There is another and never openly talked about side to it, the Goanbhatcar, who has been selling land he inherited for nothing to buyers who do have an iota of love for Goa and whose other common denominator is they come from Delhi where it appears all of India's black money is holed up. Let's begin with the Loutolim MLA Aleixo Sequeria who often has professed his love for Goa and claims to being a true blue son-of-the-soil. Why sell your Colva hotel (Oceanique) then to MEK Developers Pvt. Ltd. of guess where? New Delhi.
Arossim Arises
Finally, some people at least in the area have woken up to the brutality (and stay with me on this word) of the degradation inArossim and banded together under the Cansaulim, Arossim, VelsaoPeople's Front (CAVPF) that has irked Mauvin Godinho because of the money power of the hotel lobby. I spent a day at Arossim soaking in their plight. This is what I saw: sewerage water apparently from the Heritage Village Club flowed right down to the beach several hundred meters away. The hotel couldn't care less. The hotel showed a 10 mts wide existing public road as its own when it applied for permission to expand. The hotel stonewalls every query sent to it in this regard by the Cansaulim, Arossim, Cuelim VP.
2) Mocking CRZ and locals
A report of the Mormugao Mamlatdar dated August 4, 2006 states that the Goa Inn (proposed beach resort) fenced off their huge property(survey112/1, 113/2, 113/4 & 113/5) with 10-200 mts from the HTL. You have to be blind to not notice that this resort to be built on the beach will undoubtedly beat every record the hotel on Baga beach set as a violator of the CRZ. Goa Inn has refused to remove their offending fence. Its intentions are so blatant that villagers have asked the Sarpanch to revoke an earlier permission before the beach is usurped. Ahead of its property towards the shore, the hotel has almost fenced off an old cross where villagers have prayed for decades.
In Velsao the report said MRF built laterite stone structures (200 sqmts) between 108-128 mts from the HTL. Finolex built and occupies a series of row houses and a huge bungalow in Prail Vaddo, Cansaulim between 10-200 mts from the HTL. Never mind what the official record said, the owners built a barbeque area on the beach itself with complete recklessness. On one side next of this monstrosity are two huge bungalows built by Delhites. The Park Hyatt did landscaping and some masonry work within 10-200 mts according to the report. CAVPF says the hotel's security staff earlier frisked people entering aprivate road leading to their property but stopped after villagers protested.
3) Anger, Angst in Arossim
Mauvin whom Arossim villagers know will not back their protest said at a function recently attended by no less than Digambar Kamat (his benefactor) that his detractors the Velsao and Cansaulim Sarpanches were like "chili and salt."
Mathany Saldanha, villagers cannot understand why, is yet to throw his weight behind the Front. But they expect and want him to do so soon.The Front says it is determined to fight the privatization of the Arossim beach where already one poor Goan coastal onion farmer has so far been tortured by goons, his daughter raped and is harassed continuously because his precious ancestral land is the only one that stands between his and the property owned by another Delhi firm that wants to buy him out. In fact while I was talking to Constance JoaoFernandes in his poor homestead, a police constable from the Verna Police Station dropped by to pry amidst heavy rain. Fernandes a die-hard Mathany supporter says local goons continue to bang on his doors at night threatening him but he won't budge. The Verna police meanwhile continue to keep their paymasters abreast of even a single stranger like me meeting him, but do not bother to prosecute his tormentors.
Dutch auction of Goa
Thanks to the wonderful Right to Information Act, 2005 I have a list of Goans who sold an incredible 77,254 sq mt to Delhi's Competent Automobiles Company Ltd who plan to as their name suggests change the face of Arossim with the proficiency only Delhites have by constructing a resort right down to the beach. From the sale deed an Arossim villager obtained under RTI, I discovered Kenneth Saldanha sold 18,354 sq mt of thus huge parcel of land as recently as January2006 for Rs1,50,07,400 that on paper works out to a mere Rs817 per sqmt. Across the narrow road down to Arossim beach the Saldanha family sold an additional 965 sq mt to Goa Inn.
Between them, Competent and Goa Inn could effectively choke off the beach either side of the road down to the sea. In other words the now lonely Arossim beach and road will in future transform itself to be like Candolim beach or the lane road past Tito's in Baga. No wonder the village is fighting the privatization of Arossim beach or what'sleft of it.
The family of Dr Eqipsy sold 37,816 sq mt to Competent. Since you can sell land to anybody you want to in a free democracy, my intention is again to narrow down the blame game and expose the dubious role played by certain coastal Village Panchayats like for example Canacona,Calangute, Candolim and now Cansaulim-Arossim-Cuelim where Martha Saldanha the former Sarpanch is largely held responsible for the selling-out of this still old-world village. And also because in the currently vastly expanded blame game, the devious role particularly of Sarpanches in the coastal belt seldom find even passing mention.Example: Competent's application dated May 16, 2006 to raise a temporary fence around its property was approved on May 30 according to a certified true copy of a letter written to Competent dated June3, 2006. However another certified copy of a letter from the VP reproducing these facts shows Competent's application was dated May26, 2006. Why the discrepancies?
The future of Arossim is here
Already Competent has blocked off the traditional path to the propertyof John Barros Pereira who lives in Japan by the Goa-tried and tested method of fencing off its own properties that surround his. Elsewhere, but in the same village, Finolex the firm that built huge buildings virtually right down to be beach, blocked off the motorable traditional path to the property of a neighbouring villager. In fact this panchayat has several people who readily show you letters exposing Martha machinations but because they fear her do not want to reveal themselves.
Disappearing CRZ
According to the Mamlatdar of Mormugao exactly a year ago there were410 illegal constructions in the CRZ area of the Mormugao taluka.Interestingly, in the official list the violators listed against sr.no. 91 to 410 exist only in survey no. 54/2 in the village ofMormugao. Over three-quarters of violators are migrants. The largest recorded area of construction concerning an individual is 234 sq mt and the list includes a hospital built over 500 sq mt. That is one aspect of the declining CRZ in and around here.The other is Competent's competency in building big which has dangerous portents for Arossim. Competent Automobiles Co. Ltd. has two Maruti dealerships -one in Delhi, the other at Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. A group company Competent Construction Company only builds monolithic multi-storeyed buildings like a foreign mission it built, the 5-star Hotel Sofital Surya also in Delhi. The Aero Club, another huge edifice and Bharat Hotels, whose ancillary building alone is92,936 sq mt and consists of the World Trade Centre, World Trade Tower and the Hotel Inter Continental, a 25-level building. There is more news to their construction but it is too depressing to tell because viewed in the milieu of New Delhi their achievements are wonderful but in Goa they will mean the end of our lung space.
The Goa Bachao Abhiyan rightly clarified recently it was not againstnon-Goans in Goa but against the anti-Goan. More particularly, I (notthem) assume Delhi's (in particular) well fixed who spread their money generously bribing every one in sight to get their work done as pronto as possible and any which way even if wrong.There is another and never openly talked about side to it, the Goanbhatcar, who has been selling land he inherited for nothing to buyers who do have an iota of love for Goa and whose other common denominator is they come from Delhi where it appears all of India's black money is holed up. Let's begin with the Loutolim MLA Aleixo Sequeria who often has professed his love for Goa and claims to being a true blue son-of-the-soil. Why sell your Colva hotel (Oceanique) then to MEK Developers Pvt. Ltd. of guess where? New Delhi.
Arossim Arises
Finally, some people at least in the area have woken up to the brutality (and stay with me on this word) of the degradation inArossim and banded together under the Cansaulim, Arossim, VelsaoPeople's Front (CAVPF) that has irked Mauvin Godinho because of the money power of the hotel lobby. I spent a day at Arossim soaking in their plight. This is what I saw: sewerage water apparently from the Heritage Village Club flowed right down to the beach several hundred meters away. The hotel couldn't care less. The hotel showed a 10 mts wide existing public road as its own when it applied for permission to expand. The hotel stonewalls every query sent to it in this regard by the Cansaulim, Arossim, Cuelim VP.
2) Mocking CRZ and locals
A report of the Mormugao Mamlatdar dated August 4, 2006 states that the Goa Inn (proposed beach resort) fenced off their huge property(survey112/1, 113/2, 113/4 & 113/5) with 10-200 mts from the HTL. You have to be blind to not notice that this resort to be built on the beach will undoubtedly beat every record the hotel on Baga beach set as a violator of the CRZ. Goa Inn has refused to remove their offending fence. Its intentions are so blatant that villagers have asked the Sarpanch to revoke an earlier permission before the beach is usurped. Ahead of its property towards the shore, the hotel has almost fenced off an old cross where villagers have prayed for decades.
In Velsao the report said MRF built laterite stone structures (200 sqmts) between 108-128 mts from the HTL. Finolex built and occupies a series of row houses and a huge bungalow in Prail Vaddo, Cansaulim between 10-200 mts from the HTL. Never mind what the official record said, the owners built a barbeque area on the beach itself with complete recklessness. On one side next of this monstrosity are two huge bungalows built by Delhites. The Park Hyatt did landscaping and some masonry work within 10-200 mts according to the report. CAVPF says the hotel's security staff earlier frisked people entering aprivate road leading to their property but stopped after villagers protested.
3) Anger, Angst in Arossim
Mauvin whom Arossim villagers know will not back their protest said at a function recently attended by no less than Digambar Kamat (his benefactor) that his detractors the Velsao and Cansaulim Sarpanches were like "chili and salt."
Mathany Saldanha, villagers cannot understand why, is yet to throw his weight behind the Front. But they expect and want him to do so soon.The Front says it is determined to fight the privatization of the Arossim beach where already one poor Goan coastal onion farmer has so far been tortured by goons, his daughter raped and is harassed continuously because his precious ancestral land is the only one that stands between his and the property owned by another Delhi firm that wants to buy him out. In fact while I was talking to Constance JoaoFernandes in his poor homestead, a police constable from the Verna Police Station dropped by to pry amidst heavy rain. Fernandes a die-hard Mathany supporter says local goons continue to bang on his doors at night threatening him but he won't budge. The Verna police meanwhile continue to keep their paymasters abreast of even a single stranger like me meeting him, but do not bother to prosecute his tormentors.
Dutch auction of Goa
Thanks to the wonderful Right to Information Act, 2005 I have a list of Goans who sold an incredible 77,254 sq mt to Delhi's Competent Automobiles Company Ltd who plan to as their name suggests change the face of Arossim with the proficiency only Delhites have by constructing a resort right down to the beach. From the sale deed an Arossim villager obtained under RTI, I discovered Kenneth Saldanha sold 18,354 sq mt of thus huge parcel of land as recently as January2006 for Rs1,50,07,400 that on paper works out to a mere Rs817 per sqmt. Across the narrow road down to Arossim beach the Saldanha family sold an additional 965 sq mt to Goa Inn.
Between them, Competent and Goa Inn could effectively choke off the beach either side of the road down to the sea. In other words the now lonely Arossim beach and road will in future transform itself to be like Candolim beach or the lane road past Tito's in Baga. No wonder the village is fighting the privatization of Arossim beach or what'sleft of it.
The family of Dr Eqipsy sold 37,816 sq mt to Competent. Since you can sell land to anybody you want to in a free democracy, my intention is again to narrow down the blame game and expose the dubious role played by certain coastal Village Panchayats like for example Canacona,Calangute, Candolim and now Cansaulim-Arossim-Cuelim where Martha Saldanha the former Sarpanch is largely held responsible for the selling-out of this still old-world village. And also because in the currently vastly expanded blame game, the devious role particularly of Sarpanches in the coastal belt seldom find even passing mention.Example: Competent's application dated May 16, 2006 to raise a temporary fence around its property was approved on May 30 according to a certified true copy of a letter written to Competent dated June3, 2006. However another certified copy of a letter from the VP reproducing these facts shows Competent's application was dated May26, 2006. Why the discrepancies?
The future of Arossim is here
Already Competent has blocked off the traditional path to the propertyof John Barros Pereira who lives in Japan by the Goa-tried and tested method of fencing off its own properties that surround his. Elsewhere, but in the same village, Finolex the firm that built huge buildings virtually right down to be beach, blocked off the motorable traditional path to the property of a neighbouring villager. In fact this panchayat has several people who readily show you letters exposing Martha machinations but because they fear her do not want to reveal themselves.
Disappearing CRZ
According to the Mamlatdar of Mormugao exactly a year ago there were410 illegal constructions in the CRZ area of the Mormugao taluka.Interestingly, in the official list the violators listed against sr.no. 91 to 410 exist only in survey no. 54/2 in the village ofMormugao. Over three-quarters of violators are migrants. The largest recorded area of construction concerning an individual is 234 sq mt and the list includes a hospital built over 500 sq mt. That is one aspect of the declining CRZ in and around here.The other is Competent's competency in building big which has dangerous portents for Arossim. Competent Automobiles Co. Ltd. has two Maruti dealerships -one in Delhi, the other at Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. A group company Competent Construction Company only builds monolithic multi-storeyed buildings like a foreign mission it built, the 5-star Hotel Sofital Surya also in Delhi. The Aero Club, another huge edifice and Bharat Hotels, whose ancillary building alone is92,936 sq mt and consists of the World Trade Centre, World Trade Tower and the Hotel Inter Continental, a 25-level building. There is more news to their construction but it is too depressing to tell because viewed in the milieu of New Delhi their achievements are wonderful but in Goa they will mean the end of our lung space.
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