Tag: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant

Navy Cancels I-Day Flag Hoisting on Goa Island as Locals Object; CM Says Go Ahead with Programme

A spokesperson of the Navy’s INS Hansa base in Goa had said on Friday that a team from Goa Naval Area visited islands of Goa including Sao Jacinto island as part of this pan-India initiative.

Panaji: The Indian Navy has said that it has cancelled its plan to unfurl the national flag on Sao Jacinto island in South Goa on the Independence Day after local residents objected to it, following which state chief minister Pramod Sawant requested the naval authorities to go ahead with the tricolour hoisting programme and warned the islanders that “anti-India activities” would be dealt with an “iron fist”.

Sawant said it was “unfortunate and shameful” that some people on the island were objecting to the hoisting of the flag, and added that he his government would not tolerate such acts.

As a part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to commemorate 75 years of Independence, the Ministry of Defence has planned unfurling of the national flag on islands across the nation between August 13 and 15, officials have said.

A spokesperson of the Navy’s INS Hansa base in Goa had said on Friday that a team from Goa Naval Area visited islands of Goa including Sao Jacinto island as part of this pan-India initiative.

“However, the plan at Jacinto island had to be cancelled as the same was objected to by the residents, he said.

The island is located near Vasco town in South Goa district of the coastal state.

Also Read: Goa Hopes To Revive Mines – But Affected Communities Fear Return of Old Normal

The naval official said that the nationwide ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ initiative has been undertaken to instill a sense of patriotism and celebrate the run up to the 75th year of Independence.

Reacting to the Navy’s announcement of cancelling the flag-hoisting programme, CM Sawant said on Twitter late on Friday evening, “It is unfortunate and shameful that some individuals at St. Jacinto Island have objected to Hoisting of the National Flag by the Indian Navy on the occasion of India’s Independence Day. I condemn this and want to state on record that my Government will not tolerate any such acts.”

“I have requested the Indian Navy to go ahead with their original plan and have assured full cooperation from Goa Police. These attempts of Anti-India activities shall be dealt with an iron fist. It will always be Nation First,” he added.

(PTI)

Goa: Melauli Villagers Continue Protest Against IIT Campus Project

While BJP’s Goa unit general secretary G. Naik admits that the villagers of Melauli deserve compensation for keeping their lands fertile for generations, he also believes that education infrastructure is necessary for the state.

In Melauli village, Goa, two types of infrastructures are currently fighting for space. The fertile lands in and around Melauli, a natural endowment of the state, has long been used by the villagers to cultivate and earn a living from cashews. The Goa cabinet in July cleared a proposal to allocate 10 lakh square metres of this land for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Goa campus in the Sattari sub district’s Guleli panchayat, North Goa.

Ever since then, the villagers of Melauli have been protesting the decision to shift their community elsewhere.

The case for the construction of the IIT is strong. One of the country’s premier institutes of higher learning, its presence in Goa is vital for the state’s education infrastructure. As of now, according to Mohammad Shakeel, the registrar in charge of IIT Goa, the IIT functions from a space provided by the Goa engineering college, but given its status in the nation’s education hierarchy and the fact that it is often visited by researchers and eminent people from around the world, it urgently requires a campus of its own.

For the villagers, the case for leaving Melauli untouched is just as strong. This small village of 350 households has farmed cashews on this land for generations, according to Shubham Shivolkar, one of the Melauli villagers and the co-convener of the Melauli Panchakroshi Gram Bachao Andolan. The villagers held protests earlier this month.

Shivolkar points out that if his community were to be shifted, it would take them about 35 to 40 years to make their new site as productive as this one, where the infrastructure is already in place.

“My family has been farming cashews for more than 80 years,” said Shivolkar. “Even before liberation, we were here. Our ancestors were also involved in the liberation movement, fighting the Portuguese for freedom.”

Shashikant Savardekar, another villager from Melauli, said during his protest, “After months of lockdown, we read in the paper that our land has been handed over for the IIT project.” He also mentioned that of the 350 odd households that occupy the small village of Melauli, around 85% of the people are involved in cashew farming.

The development dilemma

So far, the villagers of Melauli have not received much public sympathy. After a recent visit to the project site where he confronted the protests by the residents, Pramod Sawant, Goa’s chief minister, remarked that he had “full knowledge of what a village is and the lives and problems of the villagers” and said he remained firm in his decision to have the IIT campus constructed here.

Goa CM Pramod Sawant at the village to discuss the construction of the IIT campus. Photo: Twitter/@DrPramodPSawant

The site of the future IIT campus in Goa has already been changed twice due to local protests, Sawant said. He added: “Around 500 to 1,000 people will get jobs and the next two generations will benefit. The development of the village means development for the villagers.”

While Damodar (Damu) G. Naik, general secretary of the BJP’s Goa unit and a former MLA of the state, admits that the villagers of Melauli deserve compensation for making and keeping their lands fertile for generations, he also believes that education infrastructure is necessary for Goa and the nation.

Also read: India Needs to Notice How 3 Development Projects Could Alter Goa’s Forests Forever

“Cashew farming doesn’t require a proper forest; like coconut trees, cashew trees can be planted anywhere,” said Naik. “Somebody has taken the initiative to make the land fertile for these long years and for that they deserve compensation, but quality education is also necessary for our nation. Accordingly, someone has to make a sacrifice.”

The Western Ghats, which stretches to areas that are included in the proposed site of the IIT campus, is a natural biosphere containing a very dense forest cover and many indigenous and often endangered species of fauna. Vast stretches of this forest cover may have to be levelled in order to clear adequate space for the construction of the campus. Residents like Mr Savardekar oppose this move, as do farmers.

Shubham Shivolkar adds another concern of the villagers that “if the IIT were to be constructed, the sewage of the thousands of people who live here will start getting mixed with the aquifer or the groundwater and those who are dependent on that source of water will inevitably suffer.”

Shobhavati Melekar, who was protesting against the IIT plan, said, “This is our forefathers’ land, if we give this away, what are we supposed to do?”

But Naik, like Sawant, remains unmoved. “On private lands, you can raise objections, but the farmers are cultivating government land and cashing in on it,” he told The Wire. “Now they are fighting as though the ownership is theirs.”

Goa CM Pramod Sawant spoke with villagers at the Shel-Melauli village regarding their grievances about the IIT Goa Campus, in October 2020. Photo: Twitter/@DrPramodPSawant

Some concessions may be made during construction. According to Naik, areas of dense forest or cultivation may be excluded from levelling. This happened earlier too: the plan had been tweaked to exclude 45,000 square metres of land containing ancient temples after protests from villagers.

“The residents wish to preserve the land while intellectual people want the IIT. Both parties need to reconcile,” said Naik. “The advantages to the people of Goa have to be prioritised and efforts need to be put into vertical rather than horizontal expansion in the project by use of relevant technology.”

With an area of a little over 1,400 square miles, Goa is presently attempting to accommodate multiple and simultaneous ground-breaking infrastructure projects. Thus, all over the state, there is friction between those with interests in economic restructuring and those with a tendency to conserve the state’s natural endowments.

Rishabh Jain has recently graduated from AJK, MCRC Jamia Millia Islamia and is a freelance writer. Sutapa Baksi is a graduate in Economics from the University of Delhi and a freelance writer.

Man Held for Sending Threatening Messages To Goa CM, Other Politicians

Ashish Naik, who lives at Sancoale village in South Goa, was arrested by the Ponda police, more than a week after Sawant lodged a complaint about getting threatening texts.

Panaji: Police on Monday arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly sending threatening messages to Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and other leaders, and also demanding money from them, an official said.

Ashish Naik, who resides at Sancoale village in South Goa, was arrested by the Ponda police, more than a week after Sawant lodged a complaint about getting threatening and abusive text messages from an international number, he said.

Police Inspector Mohan Gaude claimed the accused has confessed to sending threatening messages to several well-known people, including the chief minister, and seeking money from them.

Explaining modus operandi, Gaude said Naik used to send messages from an international number in which use to mention a local mobile number that belonged to a man with whom he had personal enmity.

Sawant had filed the complaint with the Panaji police on November 5, 2020, against an unidentified person for sending him threatening messages and asking for money.

Goa Forward Party vice-president Durgadas Kamat on November 7, 2020, had filed a complaint with the Ponda police station about receiving threatening messages.

Former BJP leader Pranav Sanvordekar, too, had filed a similar complaint with the Curchorem Police.

Goa: Despite 1100% Spike in COVID-19 Cases, BJP Is Busy Raiding Its Former Ally

Breaking up the Goa Forward Party doesn’t really do much for the BJP, except to prove that the saffron party is cynical enough to play political hopscotch during a pandemic and an economic downturn.

On a day that Goa hit a new milestone with its first two COVID-19 deaths and recorded 1100% spike in cases, the BJP went on a political hunting raid trying to split its own former ally, the Goa Forward Party (GFP). Asked if the political grapevine had got it right, GFP president Vijai Sardessai told The Wire, “they are trying”.

The political moves being managed by the saffron party’s shadowy organising secretary Satish Dhond, said to have a direct line to union home minister Amit Shah, come against the backdrop of chief minister Pramod Sawant’s gross mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis and the state’s finances and provide a convenient distraction from issues that really matter.

A “green zone” till April 12 when it was COVID-free, Goa’s curve has ballooned dramatically this month, hitting 951 cases and two deaths (as on June 24), a spike of 1100%, the local O Heraldo reported. Six localities and villages across Goa now house hotspots, with the settlement at Mangor hill in Vasco leading the count with 283 cases.

Breaking up the GFP which has only three MLAs doesn’t really do much for the BJP in terms of numbers, except to prove that the saffron party has the muscle and the coffers to do it—and is cynical enough to play political hopscotch even during a challenging pandemic and economic downturn.

Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant with Goa speaker Rajesh Patnekar at Shiv Jayanti celebration earlier this year. Photo: Author provided

The BJP has already a bloated strength of 27 (in a House of 40), 10 of them acquired from the Congress and two from the MGP last year. The ruling party lost the 2017 election but still managed to scramble to power, poaching MLAs from other parties along the way. Last week, the Supreme Court issued notice to Goa speaker Rajesh Patnekar on a petition filed by the Congress Party. The speaker has kept the party’s disqualification petition against its MLAs in cold storage since August 8, 2019, the Congress said.

Sardessai, who played a pivotal role in the BJP’s return to power, has turned its biggest critic since being dropped from Sawant’s cabinet, calling his government “inefficient, non-transparent and having no administrative accountability”, accusations hard to dispute as the government lurches from crisis to crisis. The BJP’s moves to splinter the GFP comes days after the local party petitioned the state Lokayukta (notices have already been sent to the government in the matter) for an investigation into the diversion of a coronavirus relief fund meant for labourers to the pockets of BJP workers and supporters.

Vijai Sardessai. Photo: Facebook

Much of the Rs 13 crore Goa Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board Assistance Scheme-Covid-19 (set up end March to help workers tide over wage loss) had been siphoned off by BJP karyakartas, the GFP complaint alleges. Out to shoot down the messenger, labour minister Jennifer Monserrate told The Wire, “Don’t go by everything you hear from Goa Forward. Since when have they become so clean?”

She has bank details to prove the money (from a Rs. 5.6 crore fund, according to the government) had gone to the right beneficiaries, Monserrate claimed. Her statement, however, runs counter to the chief minister’s admission that he’d spotted the names of several sarpanchas who’d taken the Rs 6,000 dole meant for labourers (“What can I do if some sarpanch registers as a labourer?” – was his wry comment).

The Wire independently spoke to a random selection of people on the list. Among them four housewives (“I never leave the house, I have a sick father to look after,” one said), a “utility” worker who applied because he too was out of work, and even an employee of a major tyre factory who took the handout even though he still has a well-paid admin job. None, of course, are construction workers and all had been alerted to the scheme by their BJP panchas.

By its own admission, the Goa government is so broke (revenues slumped 80% making the liability difficult to handle, a senior official said) that it even diverted funds from the District Mineral Foundations to ride out the crunch. “They have no concept of the kind of financial crisis we’re in,” former deputy CM and MGP leader Sudin Dhavlikar told the local media Wednesday. The chief minister was selling state security bonds every now and then to just manage the government’s wage bill, he pointed out.

Also read: Red Flags Over Goa’s COVID-19 Testing as State Itches to Reopen Economy

Compelled to cut back on six crucial healthcare projects at the Goa Medical College because of the squeeze, the chief minister hasn’t for a moment taken his eyes off the construction of a memorial for a dead politician and the superfluous beach landscaping under the smart city project (both infrastructure projects are directly under him) where work continues apace even during the pandemic and economic meltdown.

“Only the government knows how the funds for the Manohar Parrikar Smriti Sthal will come,” a government official says. All he knows is that the Rs 10 crore project (being built by Univastu India Ltd on Miramar beach) has a deadline of March 2021, and work was fast-tracked soon as the 40-day lockdown lifted. Tonnes of concrete are being poured into the sandy beach for the structure’s foundation, even though Goa’s seen an intense start to the monsoon with flooding all around.

Miramar promenade project. Photo: Author provided

Bordering the Parrikar memorial, almost a kilometre of beach is being landscaped at the cost of Rs 13 crore with the construction of a gabion wall, a granite promenade and the random placement of gazebos under the guise of the smart city project, never mind that Goa has one of the worst internet connectivity systems in place. Launched in 2015, one of the prime objectives of the Centre’s Smart City Mission was to create an efficient urban infrastructure with high-speed internet, good public transport and uninterrupted water and power supply in 100 Indian cities.

In Panaji, the funds have been diverted to beautification projects of the chief minister’s choice, though Sawant has never lived in the city. Asked for a break-up of projects and the funds received and spent, Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd said it would “take time”. The special purpose vehicle set up for the project’s execution has been often accused of a complete lack of transparency.

The beach beautification project under smart city. Photo: Author provided

It’s easy to dismiss the Goa chief minister as an incompetent, inexperienced, fumbling leader. At a recent press conference turning down the need for a short lockdown at a growing hotspot, he said “Goans have good immunity” to fight the infection. In another instance, he said coronavirus was just like the flu.

Also read: Goa: Backed by Local BJP MLAs, ‘Self-Lockdowns’ in Villages Draw Party Leadership’s Ire

The pandemic has also allowed the BJP government to brazenly subvert the system and use the police selectively against the opposition and activists. Recently, the Vasco police arrested Goa PCC vice president Sankalp Amonkar and a half dozen other Congress supporters for holding a press conference in which they pointed to the flaws in the government’s response to the pandemic. An FIR has also been registered by the crime branch against the former NCP MLA Micky Pacheco for his criticism of the government.

Last month seven activists were arrested for protesting the filling up of agricultural land for a new panchayat ghar in Taleigoa, Monserrate’s constituency. The panchayat, known to overlook violations by huge developers, runs an air-conditioned office, probably one of the poshest in Goa.

Devika Sequeira is an independent journalist based in Goa.

Goa: Backed by Local BJP MLAs, ‘Self-Lockdowns’ in Villages Draw Party Leadership’s Ire

Self-lockdowns have reportedly been imposed on grounds ranging from the government’s failure to control the spread of COVID-19 to supplementing its efforts to restrain it.

New Delhi: A decision to impose ‘self-lockdown’ by several village panchayats in Goa – leading to the shutdown of local shops and business establishments – has put the ruling BJP state leadership and its legislators and ministers in a sharp divide.

Even though the Union home ministry has lifted the national lockdown and has since passed the baton to the district magistrates to take a call at the provincial level, several panchayats in assembly constituencies represented by BJP in the coastal state have imposed a ‘self-lockdown’ within their jurisdictions.

As per news reports, these decisions, issued through circulars, have the backing of the BJP’s local legislators and ministers and even the state vice president Anil Hoble.

“The decision of the village panchayats of Sattari’s Guleri and Keri, for instance, has the backing of health minister Vishwajit Rane. The same is true for Sancorda, where the PWD minister Deepak Pauskar is the local MLA,” a report in the Times of India said.

Yet another report in the newspaper said the panchayat of Chimbel village, a part of St Cruz assembly constituency represented by BJP’s Antonio ‘Tony’ Fernandes, too issued a circular asking people to observe a self-lockdown for seven days from June 15. Some other panchayats named in news reports are Cumbarjua, Sanvordem, Merces and Aldona – all located in constituencies represented by BJP MLAs.

Self-lockdown essentially means the permission to run chemist and ration shops and a fixed time period for opening milk shops while all other shops remain shut. In some village panchayat areas, roads have also been blocked and fines for breaking the rules have been imposed.

Also read: India’s Environment Ministry Unlocked Many Protected Areas During the Lockdown

These self-lockdowns have reportedly been imposed by panchayats on grounds ranging from the state government’s failure to control the spread of the coronavirus to supplementing the government’s efforts at restraining it.

However, with growing public sentiment against the government due to a spike in the number of cases, and the imposition of fines as high as Rs 5,000 on shopkeepers for not adhering to local rules, the BJP state leadership is increasingly pressurising its legislators and ministers to not back such moves – thereby pushing some panchayats to withdraw the circulars as well.

Speaking to reporters this on June 15, the state party president Sadanand Tanavade called such decisions “illegal”. He told the Times of India that the panchayats don’t have the power to issue lockdown orders “and the person issuing them can get into trouble”. Former MP Narendra Sawaikar too reiterated the same in a tweet.

A day later, chief minister Pramod Swant too joined Tanavade in condemning such moves. However, party vice president Hoble had earlier told reporters that Sawant supported his call for self-lockdowns.

On June 15, the Panchayat minister Mauvin Godinho too said that such bodies had no authority to impose lockdowns and keep villages under lockdown.

On June 16 though, Chumbel issued a circular imposing a self-lockdown in the village but later withdrew it under pressure from the state government. News reports said that the stipulations in the circular would continue to be under observation.

St Cruz MLA Fernandes disagreed with state party leadership that such orders were “illegal” as the village sarpanch “is the first citizen of the village and can take such decisions”.

Goa CM Pramod Sawant’s Land Buying Spree Raises Eyebrows

At a time when Goa’s unemployment rate is the highest in the country, his land deals have given ammunition to political opponents.

Panaji (Goa): Pramod Sawant credits his stint as a government Ayurveda medic in rural Goa for his political awakening. He would have not become chief minister, had he obtained an MBBS or engineering degree, he told an Ayurveda association meet some weeks ago.

Fact is, had the Goa chief minister not chanced upon a full-time career in politics (he was first elected MLA in 2012), it’s unlikely he could have acquired the slew of properties that have brought him into the spotlight in recent weeks. Not on a government salary anyway.

His land-buying spree in Dodamarg, Maharashtra, dug up by the BJP’s new political opponent, the Shiv Sena, compelled the Goa CM to defend his real estate interests across the state’s border. The properties had been acquired for his “personal use”, he told the media, adding later in a tweet that he intended to use the land for “agricultural and medical purpose”.

Dodamarg is close to where Goa plans to set up its new greenfield airport at Mopa. Sawant probably has his eye on the future development of the area, his political opponents say. But the issue snowballed into a major controversy when the Shiv Sena’s Dodamarg leader Baburao Dhuri alleged that the Goa chief minister was behind a move to merge the Maharashtra region with Goa, only to drive up real estate value there. “The Shiv Sena opposes the demand for merger of Dodamarg with Goa. This is a political ploy by Sawant because he whas invested in real estate here,” Dhuri said.

Sawant stoutly denied he had a hand in the merger demand – which has wide support among residents of the backward region – but other opposition parties too latched on to the disclosures, insisting the 46-year-old BJP leader “come clean” on his land deals. Even as the Maharashtra assembly results were coming out on October 24, Sawant and his wife travelled to Sawantwadi to register two more sale deeds for land in Dodamarg, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera pointed this out. “If it’s all in the clear, why doesn’t he come out in the open with all the details?” Khera told The Wire.

A large part of the controversy over the extent of his real estate investments in Maharashtra was caused by Sawant’s own declaration in the affidavit filed before the 2017 election. It shows he bought 2,966 acres of land in Mauje, Thalekol, Dodamarg, Maharashtra in July 2016 for Rs 38 lakh. The CM told The Wire the figure was wrong, and it was actually 2.966 acres (approximately 12,000 sq metres). He also threatened legal action against opposition parties for “propagating lies”.

Pramod Sawant’s affidavit.

What’s significant though is that these personal deals have been transacted at a time when the state is beset by a series of serious economic issues that Sawant’s government has not even acknowledged.

According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, Goa’s unemployment had scaled to 34.5% in November, the highest in the country, against the all-India rate of 7.5%. Goa hasn’t set up any new industry or fast-tracked clearances for new ventures. Under Sawant, the government has no revival plan for mining, nor has it spelt out measures to address the slowdown in the tourism sector.  In October, the Centre approved Karnataka’s diversion of water from the Mhadei River – a bone of contention between the two states for years – without even consulting its CM in Goa, leaving the BJP’s state leadership red-faced.

Complaint filed with the ACB

Sawant’s appetite for real estate has been no secret. In early 2017, RTI activist Sudip Tamhankar filed a complaint with the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) of the Goa police asking for an investigation into the BJP legislator’s disproportionate assets. In his affidavit before the 2012 election, Sawant had declared assets worth Rs 62 lakh, liabilities of Rs 44.4 lakh and tax returns for Rs 4.5 lakh. Yet barely two years later, Jay Ganesh Developers and Associates, a real estate company the Goa CM set up in 2014 with three other partners, began to acquire huge tracts of land in Bicholim, North Goa. Over 2014-2015, Jay Ganesh bought 36,500 sq metres for Rs 2.55 crore (The Wire has copies of the sale deeds which show Sawant as partner No 1 in the company). The land has since been developed, subdivided and is being sold as small plots.

What stands out, however, is not the undervaluation of the sale on paper, which by the market value notified by the state government and declared in the sale deed itself should have been Rs 5.7 crore, but that the land transactions coincided with the phase when Sawant sat as chairman of the lucrative Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC).

The fact that an MLA with a limited source of income was involved in such high-value land deals implied a “laundering of money obtained from illegal gratification and kickbacks,” Tamhankar’s police complaint alleged.

The investigating officer noted that having gone through the sale deeds “the consideration of sale is seen to be at half the market value of the parcels of land purchased”. He also noted that “the sale deeds do not have any mention about the mode of payment of the amounts stated to be transacted”.

Like many other corruption complaints against politicians, especially those in power, this one too died a quick death, wound up in less than four months, by which time Pramod Sawant had become speaker of the Goa assembly.

Pramod Sawant. Credit: PTI

The police said in its closure report that the complainant (Tamhankar) had failed to respond to several summons to provide more evidence. Tamhankar, a bus contractor, who was with the Shiv Sena for a short stint, told The Wire that rather than investigate the case even after he’d provided so much evidence, the police chose to harass the whistleblower.

Early last week, activist lawyer Aires Rodrigues accessed documents that reveal the Goa CM’s recent attempt to enlist himself as the owner of a property in Cotombi, Bicholim, North Goa, under the state’s Mundkar Act. Sawant filed an application before the mamlatdar of Bicholim on September 26 this year. The move, the lawyer said, “was a ploy to grab the property, and strangely three hearings (in the case) have swiftly taken place over the last three months”.

Under an antiquated system in Goa, a mundkar was a landless person who worked practically in bondage to look after a landlord’s properties and fields. The Act attempted to upend the system by giving mundkars some rights.

Sawant claims in his application that “in good faith” the owner of the land had permitted his parents to live and build a house on the property. According to the plans enclosed, the chief minister now proposes to build a new five-bedroom house on the land.

Devika Sequeira is a freelance journalist based in Goa.

Goa DGP Pranab Nanda Dies of Cardiac Arrest

Nanda was on a visit to Delhi after attending official functions in Goa on Friday.

Panaji: Goa’s director general of police Pranab Nanda has died due to cardiac arrest, a senior police official said on Saturday.

Nanda was on a visit to Delhi after attending official functions in Goa on Friday. He died late on Friday night, the official said. He was 57.

Confirming Nanda’s demise, inspector general of police Jaspal Singh said, “We were informed by his family that Nanda is no more. He died due to cardiac arrest. It’s shocking.”

The 1988-batch IPS officer was transferred to Goa on February 25 this year.

Also read: The Sharp Tongue of Anil Vij, Haryana’s First Home Minister in 20 Years

Expressing grief over the death of Nanda, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant tweeted.

Leader of opposition in the Goa assembly Digambar Kamat said, “My condolences to his wife IPS Sundari Nanda who served as deputy inspector general of police in Goa during my tenure as chief minister. My thoughts are with his family during this time of grief.”

BJP leader and former MP Narendra Sawaikar also tweeted.

Goa chief electoral officer Kunal tweeted, “Extremely saddened and unbelievable to know about the sad demise of @DGP_Goa Pranab Nanda. His cheerful personality was endearing. May God give strength to Sundari mam and kids to bear the irreparable loss. May the soul RIP!”

Goa Cabinet Reshuffle: CM Pramod Sawant Drops Four Ministers

The ministers will be replaced by Michael Lobo, who resigned as deputy speaker of assembly earlier in the day, and three of the 10 MLAs who switched over to the BJP from the Congress this week.

Panaji: Ahead of a reshuffle of the state cabinet, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant dropped four ministers – three of the Goa Forward Party (GFP) and one independent – from his cabinet Saturday.

A notification to this effect was issued in the afternoon.

According to the notification, the four ministers – deputy chief minister Vijai Sardesai, water resources minister Vinod Palyekar, rural development minister Jayesh Salgaonkar (all GFP MLAs) and revenue minister Rohan Khaunte (independent) – were dropped.

They would be replaced with Michael Lobo, who resigned as deputy speaker of assembly earlier in the day, and three of the 10 MLAs who switched over to the BJP from the Congress on Wednesday.

Also read: Goa’s Voters Lose as BJP Deliberately Misreads Anti-Defection Law

Lobo said apart from him, Chandrakant Kavlekar, Jeniffer Monserratte and Philip Nery Rodrigues would be a part of the new cabinet.

Taleigao MLA Jeniffer Monserratte is the wife of Panaji MLA Atanasio Monserratte. Earlier there were speculations that he would be inducted into the cabinet.

Lobo said, “Atanasio Monserratte refused to take up the ministerial berth and instead requested the chief minister to make his wife a part of the cabinet.”

The swearing-in ceremony of new ministers is scheduled to be held at 3 pm.