Is Naresh Sawal speaking for the MGP?
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 29 July 2015 13:30 IST
Has Bicholim independent MLA Naresh Sawal started speaking for the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party?
That is the impression he gave in the Assembly today when he demanded to hand over developmental works back to the Public Works Department.
The PWD portfolio is held by MGP supremo Sudin Dhawalikar.
Dhawalikar is reportedly upset because most of the major infrastructural works are taken up by the Goa State Infrastructural Development Corporation, headed by BJP MLA Dr Pramod Sawant.
Earlier, former chief minister Manohar Parrikar was personally heading the organisation. Now, his successor in Panaji, Siddharth Kuncalienker, is the vice chairman.
This is considered to be a deliberate move to reduce the financial powers of the PWD minister as the BJP is planning to snap ties with the MGP in the Assembly election 2017.
Workers of independent MLA Sawal are speaking that their leader would now contest on the MGP ticket.
The issue in the Assembly today was related to market borrowings of Rs 400 crore the BJP government has taken.
Sawal simply jumped at the opportunity when chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar provided a break-up of the market borrowings used for infrastructure development.
While distributing this money among six departments, PWD gets 40 per cent of its share while GSIDC gets 38 per cent.
“We have given Rs 160 crore to PWD and Rs 150 crore to GSIDC”, Parsekar told the Assembly.
According to Sawal, the GSIDC works cost five times more than what the same work costs for the PWD.
“Why are you giving so much of money to the GSIDC by increasing the cost by five times? Give it to PWD”, demanded Sawal.
The chief minister tried to reply to his demand, but he could not be heard due to cross talk.
Parsekar said the rest of the borrowings are distributed between the Water Resources, Power, Tourism and Sewerage.
“All the money is utilised for the most productive work to create infrastructure”, said the CM.
But discussions were aimed at not productive use of the money, but perhaps ‘reproductive’ utilisation of it to gain political benefits.
