A tall story

Social activism corporatized

For months I have wondered ‘why is the Margao-based Goa Hitkaran Manch (GHM) so heated up and as a result hyperactive over the way Pristine Homes Pvt. Ltd based in Cansaulim runs its business.’ Till the beginnings of an investigation fell into my lap, frankly, unsolicited; and I began asking around. The rest was easy. Using its considerable clout with a section of journalists who can’t be bothered with taking both points of view, GHM pressed forward its case against Pristine on the basis of a single agenda. If you hadn’t noticed, it is always about encroachments or illegalities committed by hotel constructions. In this case the agenda was only, that Pristine had taken on board a firangi. This is how it started. Serafino Cotta, owner of Dona Sa Maria and Fosm (Federation of Small and Medium Hotels and Guest Houses) president sent me ‘evidence’ he said would prove the point beyond reasonable doubt. In Goa, where anything the doer does is considered to be a favour done for the recipient, well, that didn’t happen here. The evidence landed by courier exactly 24 hours later! Exit Serafino Cotta.

The evidence unravels

The evidence according to GHM was that under regulation 4 (b) and (e) of RBI notification no. FEMA24/2000-RB, an NRI or PIO cannot invest in a firm. Fact is the firangi is Rajendra Gore, a British national, from Gujarat where he still has both land and home. GHM submits evidence of this to the sarpanch of Cansaulim-Arossim-Cuelim. The ‘evidence’ is Form 32 under The Companies Act, 1956 that declared Gore was appointed additional director of the company in June 2005. Fact is under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, the appointment of a foreign national as a director on the board of directors of an Indian company does not need RBI approval. Fact is also that an Indian company can also make payments in rupees towards ‘sitting fees or ‘commission’ or ‘remuneration’ and ‘travel expenses’ to even a non-whole time director. In other words in a globalized world, even India has taken the blinkers off. What GHM cleverly did was bamboozle the sarpanch with ‘evidence’ like quoting the rule book on Foreign Exchange Management (Investment in Firm or Proprietary Concern in India) Regulations 2000. The obfuscation was‘legalised’ by hiring a lawyer to send the notice to the Village Panchayat. GHM said Gore bought 500 shares at Rs 100 each in Pristine. Strangely while Form 32 (dt 20.06.05) has been duly attested (as a ‘true copy’) by the issuing authority, the Annual Return Schedule V-Part III (2006-07) issued by the Registrar of Companies was not attested. In other words GHM succeeded in getting the copy from the RoC, possibly bending a few rules, itself.

The sarpanch tells a tale

This is where I decide to talk to both the sarpanch and Tony Pereira, owner of Pristine, who admitted Gore was made director, but the shares were never transferred to him, despite the fact that the annual return does show shares in his name. He is willing to show his bank accounts to anybody willing to listen, and that he says will prove no money share transaction was ever made between Gore and him. Leave that aside for the moment. He showed me the original (sealed with wax in the style of RoC) annual returns (2005-06) that show the shares were later withdrawn, that Gore was also made director without a share holding, and that on October 18, 2008 Gore even ceased to be a director (Form 32.) Yes, that’s right I have seen the originals of all the annual returns and have copies of them with me. And by the way our firangi even has a PAN no. And yes this number is mentioned in the annual returns I have. And yes, they are attested by the RoC.

Strangely, while GHM didn’t spare anyone sending legal notices left, right and centre, it studiously refrained from lodging a complaint even with RBI or the Registrar of Companies. If they have, than they contrived not to produce it to me. Because all that needed to be done, was to ask the RBI to investigate and take the ‘criminality’ to another level altogether. Instead, it used all manner and means to cajole the sarpanch to revoke the occupancy licence. That much, and that was really quite so much, for the legal evidence from both sides.

Guess What?

Now is when the crap hits the ceiling as the saying goes. It turns out that Tony Pereira and the man who has GHM’s patronage, Pifran Fernandes, are former equal partners in Hotel Horizon, Velsao. They fell out later, and a legal case for division of their considerable assets (estimated at Rs 7-8 crore) is in the court of the District Judge of South Goa, Margao. A final order is expected May 15. It could end up in arbitration too, as the High Court has been asked to appoint an arbitrator. The High Court is expected to respond to this application in June. Whoever wins custody of the Horizon after the settlement of accounts is done, will have to pay the other half of the value of Horizon. Guess what? That’s a tidy sum. Guess what? Gore owns an apartment (bought as a rent back initially) in Horizon. Guess what? Serafino and Pifran are buddies. Guess what? Serafino Cota is the upadheokx of the Konkani Bhasha Mandal. Guess what? Nityanand Naik, who has signed all the complaints to the VP, police, is also the sor chitins of the KBM. Guess what? I guess you know that by now. My, my, they have even corporatized social activism in Goa.

(Feedback 6658606, 9763718501 lionroars.goa@gmail.com)

Benefits now, taxes later

Tax collections have become quite a fashion in Goa these days. They appear to have every connotation you can think of including the philosophy behind taxation, except, of course, the thought of how it originally started. For the good and benefit of the taxpayer, that is. There is however one concept I would really, really like if it could be adopted. That is the concept of ‘enjoy now, pay later’ just like the travel now and pay your EMIs later that one travel company introduced but abandoned not too soon afterwards. Imagine what an ideal world it would be, if say, the Corporation of the City of Panjim had to actually give you the benefits now and taxed you later. In other words wait till you avail of the benefit, and later pay your tax, if you are satisfied with the service, that is. Not going to happen. For the record, the CCP collected a total of Rs 831.17 lakh by way of taxes in 2005-2006. In 2006-07 the figure was Rs 975.18 lakh. In 2007-08 the figure was Rs 983.05. The break up is house tax Rs 391.96 lakh, building licence fees Rs 95.52, sopo Rs 3.82 lakh, establishment licence fee Rs 11 lakh, signboard/hoardings Rs 16.43 lakh, others Rs 464.32 lakh. That’s quite impressive, though at the pace your councilors are permitting buildings to be built and signboards to be displayed, you may soon not be able to find your way home or you could get lost trying to. Imagine in your own city! Some of the scenes of traffic congestion in Panjim and Margao already look like clips from disaster films like ‘Volcano’ and ‘Independence Day’

Churchill Brothers Pvt. Ltd

In Margao where only a total ban on cars would decongest what journos have for decades loved to call the commercial capital of Goa (frankly how less commercial is Mapusa than Margao?) the tax collected in 2005-06 was Rs 583.41 lakh, and Rs 561.03 lakh in 2006-07. In 2007-08 the figure was Rs 638.39 lakh. The break up is house tax Rs 249.11, building licence fees Rs 153.53, sopo Rs 24.90 lakh, establishment licence fee Rs 14.38 lakh, signboard/hoardings Rs 10.12 lakh, others Rs 186.35 lakh. The collections look impressive on paper but only from the revenue point of view. Over the din created by Churchill Brothers Pvt. Ltd (incorporated in Varca) making charges of being backstabbed by their corporate headquarters, did you hear them speak of the woes faced by the people of Margao? No, it was only about their personal problems. Never mentioned was that Margao has no single decent civic amenity of India-class, forget world-class. Did you hear Sardinha for that matter – raising his tall stature when not looking downwards with eyes downcast – embarrassed at being rubbished by Churchill Brothers Pvt. Ltd, talking of Margao as a constituency that needed to be developed? That its civic amenities were not worth mentioning? Oh, I forgot, being an MP is all about making speeches in the Lok Sabha, and it doesn’t matter if they make no sense at all.

Where there is a will there is a way

Then there is Mormugao that collected a total tax of Rs Rs 591.11 in 2007-08 and Mapusa - Rs 389.78, Ponda -Rs 134.75 lakh and Bicholim -Rs 144.35 lakh, and Canacona which at a tax collection of Rs 112.43 lakh rounded up the municipalities that have revenue collections of above one hundred lakhs. Of real note here is the fact that the total of 14 muncipalities collected Rs 486.15 lakh as building licence fees. That shouldn’t surprise you. What should is the fact that the Margao’s licence fee collection at Rs 153.53 lakh was far bigger than Panjim’s at Rs 95.52 lakh. This makes me recall for instance of where I worked in the past and of how efficient municipalities transformed Hyderabad.

The tech-savvy Chandrababu Naidu, may have ignored farmers committing suicide in the rural areas, but he transformed Hyderabad into Cyberabad. Every neighbourhood had an e-seva counter where you could pay your property tax, electricity bill, telephone bill, water tax. The people behind the desktop’s were efficient and polite and what would have taken hours in the past after standing in serpentine queues was over in minutes. That’s why Naidu became the darling of the middle classes and was allowed to preen as the CEO of Andhra Pradesh.

And when President Bill Clinton came visiting Hyderabad in 2000, Naidu presented him with a driving licence that had been readied with the click of a few buttons in just a few minutes. Clinton was very impressed just like he was with the city which shouted out to anyone who visited that taxes were being ploughed back to improve the city’s infrastructure. By the way, this year the annual income of the Greater Hyderabad Municpal Corporation is around Rs 1,100 crore that includes property tax collections and through advertisements, trade licenses and building permissions. Want to bet on where it will go?

(Feedback 6658606, 9763718501 lionroars.goa@gmail.com)