Vital statistics of Goa puts it in the bracket of tiny states. And so, it comes as a bit of a surprise when you hear the noise around its unwieldy administrative structure getting louder.
This is regularly followed by a chorus of demand for a third district in the coastal State. The usual grouse is the current two districts – North Goa (1,736 sq km) and South Goa (1,966 sq km) – fall short in efficiently servicing the far-flung talukas, which are not so well-connected with their district headquarters.
The western State’s 12 talukas – five in North Goa district and seven in South Goa district – are spread over an area of 3,702 sq km with a total population of 15.7 lakh (as per the Economic Survey of 2023).
The State government now wants to carve out a third district consisting of four talukas in South Goa – Sanguem, Canacona, Dharbandora and Quepem.
The reason it cites is “better administration and speedy development”.
The State government now wants to carve out a third district consisting of four talukas in South Goa – Sanguem, Canacona, Dharbandora and Quepem. The reason it cites is “better administration and speedy development”.
BJP member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Curchorem, Nilesh Cabral, offers a more strategic reason for the bifurcation of South Goa to create a third district. He believes the combination of talukas for the new district makes it Scheduled Tribe (ST)-dominated.
This, Cabral feels, will help the State in availing funding for the proposed third district through the Central government’s ST schemes.
“What I suggested (is) we should have talukas dominated with ST population in the new district. These talukas – Quepem, Sanguem, Dharbandora and Canacona – have sizeable population of schedule tribes,” he told Gomantak Times.
“ST schemes (of the Central government) are available for ST-dominated district. Once the (third) district is formed, it can become a beneficiary of such schemes (as) we will have more than 30 percent ST population (in the new district). This will make us eligible for the schemes. Today, we are not,” he added.
The coastal State’s floating population consists of staffers employed in Goa from other states by the hospitality sector, the Navy, the public sector undertakings (PSUs) and other agencies.
Making a case for carving out a third district in Goa on the basis of population, the BJP politician argued that if the State’s floating population of around 6-7 lakh was taken into consideration, then Goa’s administrative offices were, in reality, handling an estimated population of 21-22 lakh.
The coastal State’s floating population consists of staffers employed in Goa from other states by the hospitality sector, the Navy, the public sector undertakings (PSUs) and other agencies.
“If you distribute this population (of 21-22 lakh) between two current districts, then each one handles around 10-11 lakh of the population. But if you create a third district, then the load comes down to 7 lakh people for each district,” he explained.
Today, the smallest district in the country is Mahe, in Puducherry, with a geographical area of 9 sq km, and the district with lowest population is Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh with just 7,948 people dwelling in an area of 9,129 sq km.
Elvis Gomes, Congress politician, disputed Cabral’s theory of better administrative efficiency on creation of one more district in the State, saying the talukas that would make it up are ‘thinly populated’.
Elvis Gomes, Congress politician, disputed Cabral’s theory of better administrative efficiency on creation of one more district in the State, saying the talukas that would make it up are ‘thinly populated’.
He alleged BJP’s move was motivated by ‘electoral vote bank politics’, which would attempt to woo voters by creating government jobs.
“If they (the State government) want to improve administrative services or speed up development, it can be done without creating a new district. Sizeable number of jobs will be created (with the formation of a new district), but they (jobs) will not improve people’s welfare,” he said.
Gomes further stated, “Once the third district comes into being, we will see a barrage of government offices spring up, beginning with the collectorate-cum-district-magistrate, mamlatdar offices, rural development agencies and others.”
According to him, this would add to the already bloated number of government employees of over 63,000 in the State.
According to him, this would add to the already bloated number of government employees of over 63,000 in the State. Gomes said that Goa’s government employee to total employee ratio was among the highest in the country.
The Congress leader said if the third district was being carved out on the basis of dominance of the ST population, then the State government should come out with data supporting their claim in the public domain.
He countered the government’s proposition of creating a new district just to cut the distance between the residents of hinterland and district administrative offices saying it was at odds with trends in today’s digital age.
“Elon Musk (US tech billionaire) is talking about Starlink (telecom service arm of aerospace company SpaceX), which will provide internet without telecom towers with 10 times the current speed or even more, and here, we are talking about proximity to brick-and-mortar structures,” exclaimed Gomes.
He saw the bid to create another district as a futile effort and waste of the State’s resources.
Claude Alvares, director of Goa Foundation, joined in Gomes’ criticism of the government’s exercise. He said the number of districts did not matter as long as the government administration operated competently.
Claude Alvares, director of Goa Foundation, joined in Gomes’ criticism of the government’s exercise. He said the number of districts did not matter as long as the government administration operated competently.
“You may set up 50 districts, but if all the people in the office were not responsive, then it will defeat the purpose of setting up an additional district,” he said.
He too advocated the use of internet as a solution to the inconvenience currently faced by residents of far-off talukas in accessing government services.
“Why do people have to travel all the way to the collectorate’s office to meet somebody, when they can all be given an appointment to get on to zoom or google drive meetings. (This way), there is no transport problem or wastage of time,” he advised.
“I doubt whether this government is capable (of creating such digital infrastructure in the State). They are not capable of doing elementary things on the internet. So, this is too much to dream of,” he pondered.
Alvares said Cabral’s argument of creating an ST-majority district does not hold water if not backed with supporting data.
“Is he saying this (creation of ST-dominated district) on the basis of some figures? It’s useless creating a third district and finding you are wrong about the data,” quipped the civil society activist.
“It’s (to have ST-dominated district to access Central government funding) a legitimate point, but should be based on data. Cabral is generally far better with data than others but, ultimately, he is a politician and he may not want to fully disclose why he wants a district there (in four talukas selected for the new district),” he said.
Alvares is of the view that the third district will not help STs because half the tribals will be outside the proposed district area.
“If he has a good case, I will certainly support him. Unless the tribal people get together, they are not going to have any chance in society. It is important to show that in all these four talukas, the majority of the population is from the ST community. If that is the case, then it is certainly a legitimate demand,” he injected.
