EMI option for scheme
Despite the 60 per cent subsidy offered under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, the scheme remains largely unaffordable for the common people in Goa. Many households simply cannot bear the upfront cost, even after subsidy. To make this initiative truly accessible, the government should introduce an EMI option, factoring in the subsidy so that people can pay the remaining cost in easy installments. The central government launched this scheme on February 29, 2024, with a massive outlay of Rs 75,021 crore, to be implemented until FY 2026–27. The goal is to increase rooftop solar adoption and empower households to produce their own electricity. While the scheme is well-designed and generous in support, the lack of awareness and financial barriers prevent large-scale adoption by common citizens. Therefore, the state government must step in to bridge this gap by offering easy financing through EMI-based model and supplying essential equipment like solar panels, batteries, inverters, and mounting structures on installment basis. The scheme must not remain a paper promise. It is the responsibility of both central and state authorities to ensure the scheme reaches every eligible household, especially those struggling financially.
Rajesh Banaulikar, Arpora
Signs of resistance
There is a growing resistance against mega housing projects coming up in villages due to concerns of depletion of water resources, unreliable power supply and unsustainable land sales to outsiders. Against this background a modest signboard put up by the Betalbatim village panchayat cautioning potential developers about purchasing land in the village has triggered a ripple effect across Salcete taluka. The signboard mentions that the village has exhausted its resources and that the carrying capacity of the village was exceeded. The signboard has also cautioned that the builders, promoters and developers may buy land in their village at their own risk. Developers and land buyers are now transforming their once-quiet coastal locality into gated communities. These luxury gated complexes with swimming pools are draining water supplies and electricity. Trees are being cut indiscriminately, and the environmental impact is devastating. Putting up such signboards is a novel way to keep land sharks away as the developers may not be aware of the ground reality and should be followed in other villages as well. There has been a sharp increase in mega construction projects, accompanied by a surge in the sale of land to outside investors. The unchecked mega building projects could lead to the complete exhaustion of local resources. The local authorities and government bodies appear to have failed to take timely action in this regard. Hopefully this act of resistance will prompt authorities to take prompt and meaningful action.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
On Pahalgam massacre
The Pahalgam massacre demolishes the central government’s claims that terrorism vanished thanks to the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. To paint a picture of ‘all is well’, it allowed tourists to visit a vulnerable, inaccessible meadow without the presence of even rudimentary security cover. None of this absolves the terrorists of their crime of course, but the government’s complacency can’t also be wished away. The government tried to cover its failures firstly by blaming Indians for not being patriotic enough. Secondly, the government inflicted collective punishment on poor Kashmiri families for the alleged sins of their black sheep. The conscience is not troubled by rendering dozens of fellow citizens homeless. There should be absolutely no leniency shown towards terrorists but first investigate the crime, gather evidence, prosecute the perpetrators, obtain a conviction and then sentence them to the punishment prescribed by law. That is how civilised nations deal with terror. The demolitions we just witnessed in Kashmir are meant to convince the Indian public that they are seeing justice being delivered, even when the authorities are far from arresting the terrorists.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Internet addiction
Information available on the internet may not always be authentic. Almost everyone goes through the internet; but only some grow through it. Many doctors are baffled by the “immense internet knowledge” of patients. Often it is almost like the patients take a second opinion from the doctor after having consulted their primary doctor – the internet. Details on drugs and side effects can be, to an extent, accrued on the net. But when the addiction to internet propels the users to go for a drug not recommended by a doctor, or discontinue a treatment on their own, then the issue can get complicated. In the process, the fine line between information and interaction, knowledge and experience, treatment and management, use and misuse get blurred. Unfortunately, people with Internet Derived Information Obstruction Treatment (IDIOT) syndrome or Cyberchondria proved very vulnerable during the Covid pandemic. Even now, thousands of people are on a self medicating spree. As a result, more and more patients are going untreated.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
