Panaji’s paper corporation big on name but weak on civic powers

Panaji: Goa’s capital boasts a civic body dressed up as a “corporation” since the 2002 Act kicked in, promising big-league urban governance. Yet, two decades on, locals and corporators grudgingly admit that the civic body has been relegated to clearing out drains and picking up trash. And that’s par for the course with Margao, Mapusa and Mormugao councils.

What stings is the gap with peers elsewhere. Vellore, Tumakuru, or Belagavi corporations don’t just sweep streets. Panaji’s civic cousins in other states pipe water, run schools, operate clinics, even handle property swaps, while the city fathers of Panaji rubber stamp the building approvals being dished out by the Town and Country Planning department.


Despite sitting on the Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) board, city mayor Rohit Monserrate has repeatedly said that he has no say in the Smart City mission, a flagship scheme that aimed to give the capital a facelift.

Panaji’s corporation tag, born from a 2003 expansion dream, aimed to incorporate bits of Porvorim, Santa Cruz, Penha de Franca, even parts of Bambolim. Political howls axed these plans and shrank the turf instead even as council seats ballooned to 30 from 15, bloating the decision making process without providing the bite.

Sanjay Sarmalkar, who is contesting the CCP council elections from ward 26 says that CCP has failed to address challenges such as public transportation, traffic congestion, health care for senior citizens and domestic water supply.

None of these basic civic amenities fall under CCP’s charter.

“Old buildings without parking facilities are being subjected to parking fees for on-street parking. Priority should be for sufficient water for domestic consumption,” Sarmalkar said. “An efficient public transportation system is required to reduce the number of vehicles.”

Former govt officials say that CCP has been crippled by hasty law-making and political games. CCP’s bylaws - nine proposed, two notified - have been gathering dust, leaving the civic body juggling for authority.

“The bylaws were not put in place for the last five years. If the bylaws were framed, why were the recruitment rules not done? For five years the mayor, the minister and the mother were in the same party. The CCP act was cut-paste-and-copy from Nagpur Corporation but after that nothing else was done for the better. They did not want powers for the local bodies because the municipal administration does not want to give up its own power,” said former mayor and seven term councillor Surendr Furtado.