Ideally, the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee should have first listed its government’s unfinished agenda of the last five years, then explained why certain projects or promises were not fulfilled and finally spelled out its plan for the next five years.
That would have made it easier for the common voter to grasp the key elements. The manifesto released on Monday by the party does not lack the necessary ingredients; it has its quota of promises like computer tablets for students, a hike in the pension distributed under the Dayanand Social Security Scheme and 80 per cent jobs for Goans in industries. However, it is the sheer number of promises putting them beyond the realm of possibility that may make the voter wonder if the party is serious about implementing them.
Thankfully, the party has decided to retain most of the policies pursued during the last five years thereby lending continuity to governance. With respect to the Regional Plan 2021, the manifesto toes the government line which is to retain the plan with corrections. The Regional Plan was the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat’s dream project. Although the plan has been notified, changes if any would depend entirely on who becomes the chief minister if the Congress is returned to power.
Having a Health Minister who went on a hospital building spree certainly reduces the scope for scoring brownie points in the manifesto. Nonetheless, one has to admit the hike in mediclaim limit to `7 lakh came as a surprise. One wonders why this was not implemented earlier. The increase in health insurance cover from `60,000 to `1 lakh is also welcome, but once again that nagging question pops up. Why not earlier? Were these figures arrived at after a careful study or pulled out of thin air? The manifesto offers no answers. The manifesto also promises to set up a special hospital to promote medical tourism. With government hospitals in not so well-managed there are doubts if it has the capability to build and operate a world-class facility to draw tourists. Surprisingly, the manifesto is silent on whether the Congress would adopt the PPP model to run existing government hospitals as attempted with the district hospital in Mapusa.
Unlike the BJP the Congress isn’t quite adept at building bridges. Despite being in power for the last eight years, the party has failed to build bridges across the Zuari, Talpona and Galgibaga rivers. Now the Congress promises to build them, but does not say if it will do so with state finances or shift the responsibility to the NHAI. As for the bridges to link Chorao, Calvim, Terekol and Marcaim with the mainland, there is every possibility that the plans might remain on paper for another five years.
The dispute over sharing of Mhadei water could take years to resolve and it seems needless for the Congress to given an assurance that it would ensure that no water is shared with Karnataka, when the matter is no longer in its hands. This contentious issue will be decided by a tribunal set up under the Inter States Water Disputes Act. The party has not deviated from its stand on the medium of instruction, which is to give parents a choice. Any deviation from this position would have upset its minority vote bank. By pledging equal support to Konkani in Devnagiri and Romi scripts and Marathi, the party has nothing to gain or lose as this is now a well established convention.
Free water and power supply of 150 units to SC, ST, OBC and economically backward families is the need of the hour as the state still has families that struggle to make ends meet, both in rural and urban areas. However, there exists vast scope for misuse of this scheme and unless stringent checks and balances are established the wrong people could reap the benefits.
The promise of reservation of 80 per cent jobs for locals in industry could prove difficult to implement. First attempted when Mr Luizinho Faleiro was industries minister, the reservation policy proved to be a non-starter because it was not backed by a programme to train personnel for the kind of jobs that industry was creating. Before even attempting to implement this promise the party must introspect why it failed earlier.
Information technology, once billed as the third economic generator after mining and tourism, has not received the attention it deserves in the manifesto which reveals that the broadband network is yet to be completed. Hence the promise of wi-fi connectivity at maximum number of places could remain a distant dream. There is a vague reference to revival of the IT habitat and establishment of a cyber city, but no mention on how this would be achieved. Practically all cities in the state are undergoing urban decay and the promise of a city bus service run by the KTC, multi-storey parking and rapid transportation system would certainly help if pursued with vigor. The plans exist, what is required is the political will and money.
Perhaps, the only revolutionary pledge is the formation of a manifesto monitoring committee which will keep tabs on implementation of promises and prepare an annual report. This kind of mechanism is essential as manifestoes have a tendency to end up in remote corners minutes after the election results are declared.
