Manohar Parrikar is a name etched in the history for his visionary leadership, simplicity, compassion and impeccable integrity. He became an MLA at a young age of 39 from Panaji Assembly constituency. Being a metallurgical engineer from IIT Bombay, he quickly studied the functioning of various government departments to learn the ropes of administration. His sharp memory and ability to express with facts and figures in the Assembly attracted the attention of everyone within a short period. He soon became the leader of Opposition and caught public attention for his talent to question the government on various issues both within the Assembly and outside. His speeches laced with jokes and one liner witty remarks were loved by everyone.
His presence always created an aura. He was no less than a celebrity. People loved his speeches as listening to him was a learning experience as he used to research, study and present the matters with logical reasoning. I remember, during the meetings in the Planning Commission of India, the conference hall used to be jam packed, even the senior officers standing just to listen to him. Whenever he led a team of officers for high-level meetings in New Delhi or elsewhere, it used to be mostly a one-man show as he loved to discuss and take all the questions upon himself, while it was also true that he was better prepared than the officers who accompanied him. While it is customary to give a written speech to the Chief Minister for the high-level meetings, Parrikar hardly read such written speeches instead used to speak extempore in his unique style.
During his tenure as chief minister, there used to be a fear and respect in the administration. Parrikar believed in monitoring the performance of the officers and departments. He used to give clear decisions on files with sufficient reasoning and clarity. He had the ability to write schemes and prepare legislations and rules on his own.
He gave priority for creating social security network and introduced many schemes for the needy and downtrodden. He introduced Dayanand Social Security Scheme to provide monthly pension to senior citizens, widows, and differently-abled persons in financial distress. To cope up with the rising prices, he introduced Griha Aadhar Scheme to support housewives from middle, lower-middle and poor sections of the society. He introduced Ladli Laxmi Scheme to provide one-time financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to girls at the time of marriage. He introduced Direct Benefit Transfer process so that the money is directly credited to the beneficiary bank account. Parrikar timely sensed the importance of IT revolution and introduced the Cyberage Scheme to provide free desktop computers and later laptops to higher secondary students for computer education.
Parrikar gave impetus for infrastructure development. He created the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation as a special purpose vehicle to ensure rapid planning, execution and completion of infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, schools, hospitals etc. He tried to decongest the Panaji city. He introduced interest-free infrastructure loan scheme for educational institutions. He created an educational cluster at Bambolim and moved many educational institutions from the Panaji city. He gave a new building to the Panaji municipal market. He brought International Film Festival of India to Goa as a permanent venue and created required infrastructure in a record time.
Parrikar is largely responsible for realising the long pending dream of development of greenfield international airport at Mopa. He created a new Department of Civil Aviation and I was fortunate to get the opportunity to shoulder the challenging responsibility as the first director. He took certain path-breaking decisions in navigating various project impediments. He enacted the Goa (Mopa Airport Development Authority) Act 2018 making provision for single-window clearance. He enacted a legislation – the Goa Compensation to the Project Affected Persons and Vesting of Land in the Government Act, 2017 – for correction of errors in area and survey numbers in the land acquisition.
In order to procure certain left out patches of land required for Mopa Airport project, policy on direct procurement of land was notified. Additional three times compensation for Mopa airport land losers was approved.
In finalising PPP tender documents, environmental clearance study, concession agreement, fighting litigations in the NGT, High Court and Supreme Court etc, his guidance was immense and vital. The successive governments led by Laxmikant Parsekar and Pramod Sawant aligned fully with the path towards ensuring successful commissioning of Mopa airport.
He became famous for his ‘hands on’ approach as defence minister. He streamlined the procurement process and expedited procurement of weapons, aircraft, artillery and ammunition. He showed courage in giving approval along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for 2016 surgical strike on Pakistan. He promoted ‘Make in India’ in defence manufacturing. He played a crucial role in sealing the much-needed Rafaele deal. He approved the long-pending ‘One Rank One Pension’ proposal for retired soldiers. He soon became popular within the defence forces for the personal rapport he developed with the soldiers.
Parrikar, a legendary statesman and a rare gem, is the most loved and revered personality not only in Goa but also across India and will be remembered for ever.
(Dr Suresh Shanbhogue is a retired senior bureaucrat.)
