EDITORIAL
With Kamat and Tawadkar’s experience, the government and BJP stand to gain
Finally, after a long wait, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday allocated portfolios to the newly inducted ministers Digambar Kamat and Ramesh Tawadkar. He chose an auspicious day to do so.
Kamat, a former Congress chief minister and currently serving his seventh term in the Goa Assembly, unbeaten since 1994, got PWD as the major portfolio, along with Captain of Ports and Legal Metrology. He first became a minister in 1999 in the coalition government headed by Francisco Sardinha and continued in power till 2012, which included a five-year tenure as Chief Minister of Goa (2007–12). He was in the opposition for a decade (2012–22).
With vast experience, Kamat will not find it difficult to handle the three portfolios, provided he gets adequate funds for the projects he proposes. His detractors, including those in the BJP, have often accused him of not doing enough for Margao. They point to the absence of a proper bus stand, lack of parking facilities, poor waste management, traffic congestion, and the condition of the municipal market as issues that remain unresolved.
Tenders had been floated for some projects but, for one reason or another, they never took off. Now that he is a senior minister, the onus will be on him to get the pending works started. In an interview with this newspaper on Wednesday, he said that a tender would soon be floated for a parking plaza, and that beautification of the ring road near KRC and providing pothole-free roads in Margao would also be taken up.
Kamat also has to prepare for the next municipal council elections likely to be held early next year. The challenge will come from GFP chief and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, who is expected to float a panel for the MMC polls. Having come under criticism, Kamat will have to go the extra mile to bring development to Margao.
For him, the opposition is not only from non-BJP parties but also from within the ruling party. Hardliners are opposed to his leadership and had lobbied against his induction into the cabinet. However, the party is aware that it has to win seats in the next assembly elections, and Margao is important for them. The last time he won the seat on a BJP ticket was in 2002.
With the PWD portfolio, he can deliver results, but poor road conditions could also draw criticism. Had he received Art and Culture, he might have continued initiatives through Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, and other cultural centres, as he had done in the past.
Tawadkar has got two portfolios that he handled from 2012–17—Sports and Tribal Welfare. He is expected to strengthen his position not only in Canacona but also in other parts of the state, especially in tribal areas. The tribal community still has unresolved issues, and he will now have to work to navigate the red tape. Art and Culture is an additional responsibility for him, and he will be able to take up projects in art, music, theatre, and infrastructure.
In the minor reshuffle, the Chief Minister has given the Water Supply Department to Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phal Dessai. If he applies the same vigour he is known for in his interest in Goa’s medieval history, the water supply will improve and citizens will remember him for a long time.
Power Minister Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar had to give up Housing and in its place got Museum and Goa Gazetteer. It may be a minor setback for the MGP veteran, but the Chief Minister has to satisfy his 28 MLAs while also keeping in mind the 2027 Assembly polls. Overall, BJP stands to gain from the two experienced politicians.
