Jt cadre with Daman-Diu proposed

Sandesh Prabhudesai
24 January 2001  



Rather than bigger states, Goa now wants to have a joint cadre of IAS officers with smaller union territories like Daman, Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, incidentally all the former Portuguese colonies.

Chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who was forcefully advocating a joint cadre with the neighbouring state of Maharashtra, has now agreed to replace its cabinet decision with the proposal put forward by the opposition Congress.

After discussing it briefly in the House, the ruling BJP as well as the opposition benches have taken a step backward in this regard. The Congress has accepted the fact that an independent cadre of its own cannot be a reality.

The whole House was however unanimous that Goa should withdraw its temporary consent to be part of the AGMU cadre, consisting of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories. It was an arrangement made soon after Goa gained statehood in 1987.

All the politicians complain about the attitude of the union home ministry to send some IAS officers on punishment postings while even other bureaucrats keep flying to Delhi and North East at the cost of Goa rather than working dedicatedly for the tourist state.

According to Parrikar, the alternative proposed by the erstwhile Congress government in September 1999 to have its independent cadre was not viable since it could be difficult to function effectively with a small number of 15 IAS officers, who cannot even be transferred.

He also brought to the notice of the House that separate Goa cadre could not have Goan officers since all the seven officers on the promotional list were non-Goans while it would take minimum 20 years for any Goan to appear on the list.

Though Parrikar felt that joint cadre with Maharashtra could import Goan officers posted there as well as the experienced administrative set up of the bigger step, opposition leader Luizinho Faleiro reminded him about the public unrest against the Maharashtrian deputationists brought in Goa soon after it was liberated in 1961.

Parrikar also agreed to the proposal made by his predecessor Francisco Sardinha that having joint cadre with bigger state had a risk of such a state indirectly ruling over the tiny state of Goa. Tying up with smaller union territories has thus been felt safer.

The union home ministry however is still seized of the matter as this would be the third proposal to sit upon, while not deciding anything upon the earlier proposals of having an independent state cadre or a joint cadre with Maharashtra.

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