NT Reporter Panaji
Aldona Congress MLA Carlos Ferreira on Tuesday said that law and order in the state has collapsed, with rising number of crimes seen against women and children.
Fatorda GFP MLA Vijai Sardesai said Goa has shifted from being a drug-consuming state to a drug-supplying state due to weak enforcement. Out of 517 narcotics cases charge-sheeted between 2021 and mid-2025, 31 convictions were secured, he said. In the first half of 2025, none of the 25 charge-sheeted cases resulted in convictions. Sardesai called for fast-track special narcotics courts and stronger panch witness systems.
Ferreira also said that merely catching small drug peddlers is not enough and that “whenever there are drug seizures, the police must go to find out the trail and the source of the drug”.
Also calling out rising crime, Mandrem MGP MLA Jit Arolkar, speaking during the demands in the assembly, raised the need for night patrolling by tourist police along the coastal belt.
“Tourist police should carry out patrolling at night along the coastal belt as most crimes happen at night,” he said.
Arolkar also demanded that a drive be conducted to locate foreign tourists overstaying in Goa and to deport them immediately.
Opposition Leader Yuri Alemao suggested police modernisation through an e-FIR portal, real-time tracking, GPS-enabled patrol vehicles, crime hotspot mapping and performance-based incentives for personnel, noting these facilities are available in other tourist states.
Concerns over promotion delays were raised, with Bicholim’s Chandrakant Shetye stating that 350 police personnel recruited in 2001 remain unpromoted. Calls for increased staff came from Cumbharjua BJP MLA Rajesh Faldessai, who sought 50 additional personnel for Old Goa, and from Siolim BJP MLA Delilah Lobo, who requested more deployment at Anjuna beach.
Curchorem BJP MLA Nilesh Cabral suggested better guidance for new officers to prepare stronger cases.
Pernem BJP MLA Pravin Arlekar urged verification of migrant workers’ police cards and CCTV coverage from Dhargalim to Patradevi.
