PANAJI: Total confusion seems to prevail in the administration of the Entertainment Society of Goa with the excluded members of the governing body of the ESG being invited to attend a meeting for deciding on the multi-cuisine food court, including its tender and plan, proposed to be set up in the ESG Complex. The meeting is scheduled to be held on September 3, at 11 a.m.

Ironically, a press communiqué from the ESG had informed that the governing body was reconstituted vide an order dated August 26, while the letters asking the excluded members of the governing body to attend the September 3 ‘Food Court’ meeting, are dated August 30.
The members of the ‘Food Court’ committee include the managing director of the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation, Mr Sanjeet Rodrigues, Ms Ranjana Salgaocar, Mr Manguirish Pai Raikar, Mr Vishal Pai Cacode and Mr Shreedhar Padhye.
It may be recalled that the CEO of the ESG had proposed to set up a food court in the triangular area admeasuring 403.38 sq mts between old Goa Medical College heritage building and the ESG office. The said food court is expected to serve various cuisines, which will have flavours of India. In addition, the society has a canteen premises situated in the ground floor of the Maquinez Palace, which is a part of the proposed project for offer for lease of food court premises.
When contacted, one of the members of the ‘Food Court’ committee, who did not find a place in the re-constituted governing body of the ESG said that no official communication from the government as regards the re-constitution of the body has still been received. The member also observed that issues of such magnitude as setting up a food court need thorough deliberation and thought process.
“Recently, it had been brought to the notice that the ownership of the entire old GMC precincts is not with the ESG,” this member maintained, pointing out that it would be more appropriate to streamline the land ownership issue before taking any decision on the food court. This member also expressed displeasure over the delay in convening this meeting, when the decision to this regard was taken months ago and that too in a hurried manner.
Incidentally, the ESG website www.iffigoa.org under the RTI window, giving details about the governing as well as the general body of the ESG, provides outdated information about general body as constituted on July 20, 2007 and governing body as constituted on August 2, 2007. This space on the website neither includes the 2 notifications issued in July 2010, giving extension to two bodies, nor does it have any information about the newly re-constituted bodies.
Furthermore, the ESG website informs that Mr Saish Gandhi is the assistant public information officer of the ESG, while Mr Rohit Vadkar as its public information officer, when both of them are no longer serving in that position and the responsibility of the information officer is presently handled by the general manager of the ESG, Mr Venancio Furtado.
The matter gathers seriousness since the public information officer as well as the first appellate authority of the ESG are both facing hearing before the State Information Commission, for giving wrong/ incomplete information under the RTI Act 2006.
The irregularity in the ESG’s website information endorses the news report brought out by ‘The Navhind Times’ as regards fraud committed in the awarding of the contract to an agency, last year, for maintaining the said website.
To make the matter worse, the re-constituted governing as well as general body of the ESG have Mr Rajiv Yaduvanshi appointed as their member, when Mr Yaduvanshi, an IAS officer is no longer in the service of the state government and has been transferred to New Delhi.