Biz@Blaise: Land A Scare Resource

Recently a government official mentioned that a search was on for 450 odd acres of land for the proposed NIT. This requirement was getting to be very difficult to meet because the conditions were stringent, even the area earlier ear marked for the proposed sports city was not good enough.

The question is, who decides how much land is required for a particular project and do these people factor in the area that they are looking at. The fact that IIT Mumbai has 1000 acres or that BITS Goa is built on something similar forms the basis of such indents for land? Is availability not a factor, can Goa and and other State we looked at in the same way?

The land given to IIT in the early 60's was in an area in Mumbai where at that time no one would have believed was habitable. If you pass by IIT Mumbai, you will see low rise housing occupying what is now prime property. Surely if IIT Mumbai was being set up today, it would have been done with a much smaller piece of land but with the same standard of excellence. Infact across the road from IIT, Hirandani's have built tall buildings housing many more people in less land compared to the IIT. BITS Goa, developed the new campus keeping in mind the fact that the land had been left vacant for so long it was a sitting target for acquisition. Magarpatta township in Pune, is an example of win win acquisition, it is teeming with housing, schools and offices, it occupies 450 acres.

So if we need to set up an institute of excellence, will 50 acres or even less not be sufficient. The max no of students would be 5000 at the peak, assuming a teacher student ratio of 1:20, another 1000, another 1000 for support, giving a total of 7000 people housed in 50 acres. The numbers are on the higher side but even then it allows sufficient space. Some top institutes around the world will boast of being built on a much smaller footprint. So those planning the NIT should factor in Goa's paucity of land and come up with innovative designs that will require less land and still enable it to be a center par excellence. That way there will be less or no resistance from locals.

The continued acquisition of land for industry is causing angst among land owners. There is no doubt that land is required for industry. One possibility is that far sighted planners are acquiring and keeping lands for future industry. However this is not the case, the acquisition is for setting up industry today. This despite the fact that there are already acquired and allotted lands lying unused. Should utilising these vacant unused factories or buildings be a priority. The acquired land in industrial estates is allotted at concessional rates to entrepreneurs to start industry which will in turn employ people gainfully and contribute to the tax kitty which in turn will help development. Keeping them locked is not helping the objective.

Therefore the GIDC which is the nodal agency should consider ways and means to make these unit operational. One way would be to consider applying a non operational tax on all closed units so that they are forced to either restart or transfer in favour of someone who has an idea and wants the space. After all a closed unit is a white elephant, it neither contributes to the exchequer nor employs anyone. Under the watch of the previous Government, because the focus was on individual rather than the State, all industrial land was usurped by traders and utilised to store cement or steel and even tiles. Cost of land in the cities was far higher than even the unofficial price in industrial estates. In Margao for example if a sq mt was 20000/- + in the Verna Industrial Estate the unofficial price was just 4000/sqm. Cheap, if one was looking for godown space, but expensive if one was thinking of setting up a factory. The net result we have a corporate office, godowns by the dozen and even a bungalow in the industrial estate.

Maybe it is time to reconsider what we are acquiring land for, rather than say for only manufacturing we should also include services, IT/ITES financial services, where a single building will accommodate many more employees and contribute more tax revenues. This would be more efficient use of scarce goan land.

For Goa and goans, land is a scarce resource and should be treated that way. Every effort has to be made to get maximum value using minimum land. We always wish and look at Singapore as a model to be emulated. Singapore's educational institutions are now being recognised around the world and they do not have 450 acres each. The industrial activity in Singapore is something to be talked about and it coexists happily with the services industry. It is time our political setup began to think more in terms of Goa and not “self or party” Its time people start asking how development can be achieved using limited resources efficiently. If this happens, Goa will be a better land.

Biz@Blaise Black money Red Herring

Since his swearing in ceremony, PM Modi has impressed with his out of the box thinking. Was disappointed when in his latest Radio address, he has promised the country he will bring back poor people's money stashed away in foreign bank accounts.

First of all, whatever money is in politicians or bureaucrats secret and illegal accounts, it is surely poor people's money and belongs to all Indians. Money of rich businessmen in these accounts is partly due to us Indians, ie tax portion. My argument is with the end being attacked. Why are we focusing on bringing back money stashed abroad, why are we begging some countries to share information which is outdated at best, so much noise over the bank lists and then it is said they pertain to 2006.

We must focus on activities at home that generate this black money, a fraction of which then finds its way to a foreign bank. Ofcourse from these foreign banks the money is rerouted into India through channels in say the Cayman islands or other tax havens where no questions are asked. They thus legitimately enter back into India as FDI, PN or real estate. Some of it has even come back as RDX and that is why every right thinking Indian has to guard against black money. It may look like it is just another parallel economic activity to avoid paying tax on hard earned money, but it also opens doors for many antisocial and anti national activities.

If one has to target black money creation at home, one will seriously have to look at 1) Corruption : The principal generator of black money is corruption, it is the root of all evil. The new initiative to focus on MAKE IN INDIA and simplify paperwork will have an impact on reducing avenues for corrupt officials to make money. However reducing avenues for our politicians to make money is more difficult. Look at how every political party has opposed the EC guidelines to bring transparency into the system of political contributions.

2) Real estate business: by its very nature is most prone to dealing in black money. So much so that even salaried people have to convert white into black to be able to do a transaction. In Goa, we could have reduced the avenue for corruption in land conversions by adopting the regional plan but as you will notice it is not happening. Do not blame only the politicians as this flux situation surely benefits some vested interests who are not politicians.

3) Front companies are a bane, Just before the radio talk the PM asked banks to spearhead the search for money hidden behind a veil of subsidiaries and trusts. The new Companies Act has plugged many loop holes which were exploited in routing black money back into the system though a maze of subsidiaries. In the Jaylathia case the Judge referred to her numerous accounts to facilitate the movement of cash. This two pronged attack is a step in the right direction.

4) Tax Structures: The high incidence of tax makes people try and avoid paying. On the other had the penalty for not paying tax appears to be a slap on the wrist. So it makes evading tax lucrative and high return. Then there are issues like no tax on farm income, the only beneficiaries as farmers are genuinely poor are politicians who show huge as farm income. In Goa we use trawlers, you will notice that the fish find only politicians nets as rest of the fishermen do not make as much money selling fish. If the trawler owning fisherman looses the election his fortunes with fish also seem to change, fishy world.

These issues need a change in attitude in order to be addressed. The change in attitude is what Goa CM Parrikar has in mind but unable to practice. ZERO TOLERANCE to corruption. The reality is even if he catches someone corrupt he will prefer to transfer the person as proceeding is very tedious and time consuming. The famous Jayatiltha case went on for close to two decades and seems to be a first, while we all know there should be many more CM's in the same position. Zero Tolerance should include a harsh jail sentence, confiscation of property and speedy completion of trials as is being envisaged in rape cases. Not some silly penalty, a few days in jail and rest of your life to enjoy the spoils.

Zero tolerance would then mean that each individual feels it is his or her responsibility to curb black money/ corruption as it is anti national. They would compare the list with the facts on the ground and report assets held in benami names or which are not disclosed. No question of harassment, as once pointed out it can be quickly concluded by checking financial history if it actually belongs to the person or not. If yes, what is the source of income? If legitimate no issue, if not big problem. So simple.

In short if PM Modi is serious about money stolen from poor Indians, he should focus on the areas where the money is stolen, and stop or make stealing difficult and not where a small part of it is stored. This is India's biggest problem which he seems willing to address. If he does manage, it will make him one of India's greatest Prime Ministers.

Fightng Black Money is Like asking fish to dry the pond

The Lok Sabha debate on black money was a waste of time. The Finance Minister kept repeating himself, if the names of the account holders were to be disclosed in violation of the treaty, no country would share any information and if there were any evaders in the list they would get be free.

Waste of time because every political party starting with the Congress, every few minutes one member would rise say the same thing, the explanation was not satisfactory so we are walking out. Really, the Congress was at the helm of affairs when this issue surfaced. Could they not throw light on the issue which they want us to believe the Government is hiding and is a list of just 427 names worth walking out for.

 

Assume all 427 are guilty, will penalising them or putting them in jail going to rid the country of this menace. Their major point was that the BJP promised results in 100 days. The fact that black money abounds and most likely given the situation in Goa, most of it will be in the hands of ruling politicians. Ofcourse, you can hear them say in one voice, if proved we will resign. In short the debate in parliament to me was an eye wash.

While the BJP has a point, disclosing the names will not serve any long term purpose, on the other hand surely they can go after some of the black money still in the country. Or can that happen only after the 427 names are cleared.

Black money is of two types in my opinion. One which is unaccounted after a legitimate business transaction. Quite a few businessmen generate cash income which is taxable but they prefer to avoid paying income tax, so they would have broken the law. This should not be a priority. Given the increasing level of IT usage, KYC norms, requirements of PAN no etc, slowly but surely the net is widening to encompass such evaders. Increasing consumerism is pushing the cash out. Today people who have it want to flaunt it. 

The more serious and dangerous black money is generated by corruption. This is what can be termed as anti national and deserving of the quick and harsh punishment in say Singapore. We do want to be a tiger economy like Singapore, but without the hard rules. The Mumbai bomb blasts showed how a few corrupt officials allowed death to pass by them for a few rupees, assuming it was just another consignment of drugs or gold, not realising it was RDX.

We have corrupt politicians who have no qualms about selling the countries wealth just so that their nests are feathered. Watching them we have our bureaucrats who also guide and act as enablers to help the politicians. Today, they do not need businessmen, politicians have become businessmen, going by the number of crorepatis in Parliament. The few who oppose the politicians nefarious designs are shunted around a la Kiran Bedi.

We can surely not expect politicians to address this issue because that is like asking fish t o dry the pond. They will do anything for votes and another politician can be useful especially if he has corrupt baggage. The general defense is there is no proof, or if implicated the charges are assumed to be politically motivated. 

In Goa, the BJP rose to power and there are great expectations of change. Three years on that expectation is still waiting to be fulfilled. There were a number of scams, yet today not one has seen the light of day. To be fair, one officer in GIDC was terminated. What about the others, did he act alone? There is a clear cut case against the previous Chairman of GIDC, yet no case is registered. More like dangling the sword has more value than striking. The same situation exists in the mining cases, now the figure is down to 3000 crores, great can we see some action, surely it did not happen without political support. This refusal to act against the politicians is a national malaise. The Jayalatha case was significant because it has bucked the trend. If every prosecutor or investigating agency did their job as well as the people involved in the Jaylaltha case, we would see more convictions. Once we have more convictions we will see a reduction in corruption, if not it is a gamble with no down side.

A government employee facing a disproportionate assets case, explained his source of income as fees for performing religious services. Either he has to charge a huge amount per session or he has to be doing it full time. Both are not feasible, so obviously it is income from another source. Can the investigator not question those who are reported to have paid the fees and conclude if the source is genuine or not. However this is the trend, politicians show income from farms, fishing trawlers and hotels. Yet full time farmers commit suicide and trawler owners regularly ask for governmental assistance in the form of diesel subsidy and non politician hotels never have 100% occupancy.

This illegal money turned into legal money is then used to invest in other legitimate business. It is literally cocking a snoop at the anti money laundering act and laughing all the way to the bank.

PM, Modi is doing away with archaic laws, one he must look at seriously is the law that makes paying a bribe a crime. It should be repealed and only receiving a bribe should be a crime. Will he have the political will to do it? That would make a difference in the fight against black money not a debate.

3 years/300 days: hope or hopeless

Dear NaMo and MaPa
Congratulations on completing 3 years in the State of Goaand 300 days at the center.

PM Sir, distinctly recall your words to a group of industrialists on your first official visit to Goa. You said that in just a few days in office and your biggest achievement was the fact that you and your Government had instilled HOPE in the population.  I agreed with you fully. 

However 300 days later, I am hoping you will begin to walk the talk sooner. Given the mess left by the previous government you surely deserved to get some time to begin. 

You were impressive right from the word go. At your oath taking you came up with and ace. Then you launched “Swach Bharat” and “Make in India”. So simple but yet powerful enough to put India right up there if implemented right. Surely with your impressive track record and no nonsense approach it would appear we would be well and truly on the path to development. The only way to alleviate poverty and ensure equitable distribution.

However your inability or reluctance to curb fringe elements has put the brakes on. The dichotomy is easy to see. In the budget your government gave reliefs to encourage the leather industry. On the other hand affiliated State governments have taken or are taking decisions which are contrary and effect the leather industry adversely.

You are pushing for ease of doing business but the government in Maharashtra put 1000's out of business and the Goa in government refuses to act on its own promises of shifting casinos because it will effect investor sentiment. The thought process is missing before speaking or acting.

I am hopeful you will focus on development and not just make statements to contain fringe elements but act against them to give an example. They may be throwing small pebbles at the moment, but pebbles also cause ripples in calm waters. We need calm waters to focus on development. This is well within your

Mr. Parrikar, three years is a long time in power and surely your government realises that the time for blaming all your problems on the previous regime is over.

You were impressive as LOO, you too instilled hope in many and for some anything was better than the congress. Your main plank was ending corruption. Yet three years later your government seems to have found no wrong doing by any members of the previous regime. If at all there has been some noise about a possible scam and that too is sooner than later quietly buried. Does it mean nothing wrong was done or the exchequer was not looted. Does it mean you raised the bogey of corruption only as a poll plank. Surely you will agree that the exchequer was looted and that your government does not have the will to look for reason best known to you all

In the case of the loot at GIDC you have been shown the proof and you as the then CM and then GIDC Chairman promised to file the FIR. Till date nothing has happened? Not exactly, nothing. One official has been sacked. This means that there was something rotten in GIDC and only one person was held responsible. A few employees seeing the big guns loot also tried to make hay, but unless action is taken against the top, does anyone have the moral right to act against employees who dabbled erroneously in a single plot. It also seems to point to the fact that those who milked the system earlier are free today because the current government is protecting them for whatever reason. Even in the cases related to the PWD it is a congressman who is pushing for punishment. Where does this leave the much talked about ZERO TOLERANCE TO CORRUPTION slogan.  Is it just a slogan. Again, if you wish to be in sync with the centre on corruption, Mr. Modi when visiting Goa said, he cannot stop corruption, but he promised rules whereby one could insist on “free” delivery is rules were followed. Hence reduce discretion, make rules which everyone must follow.

One can argue that you have been promoted so you are not accountable for matters of the State anymore. Nothing can be further away from the truth. Many including yours truly voted and supported the BJP because of you. You may not wish to be sen as the defacto head, for all practical purposes you are. You still command and are directing actions in Goa, your weekly visits are to review the same. So, please look into the areas you had promised Goa and Goans and act so as to fulfill promises made. You surely did not make them on a personal level but on behalf of your party. Look at the mess in GIDC, the Regional plan is pending, the mining issue awaits attention, there too we have not seen any recovery of the 3500 crores you mentioned was looted. Atleast get back some, if your calculations were wrong, surely you were not totally wrong when you said, there has been wrong doing in this sector. If your Government can take a decision despite the poll code in progress, atleast when there is no code of conduct take decisions and set things right.

We are happy that you have been recognised at the national level and are going to do great things for Indians and the armed forces in particular. Please review your Governments three years with respect to your poll promises and plug the gaps.

All the best for the remainder of your respective terms. 

Biz@blaise: Make In India, who benefits

Recent a senior member of the village of Verna which is next to  the largest industrial estate in Goa, stated that the village gets no benefits as even the youth are not getting employment in the industrial estate. With “Make in India” fast becoming a mantra and every State government falling over themselves to attract investors, this issue needs to be looked at quickly; else resulting agitations will have their effect.

Being closely involved with Verna Industrial Estate and also having my origins in the Verna Village, there is an excuse to comment on the situation. I do not agree with my fellow villager. The village is benefiting from the existence of the industrial estate, what is debatable is the kind of benefit they are deriving. However it appears tgey have made a choice. Even turning a blind eye to the happenings is a choice.

Years ago, the Association office bearers were summoned by the Governor of Goa. Goa was then under Governors rule and a few concerned villagers had complained that the industry was affecting the demographic makeup and also having a negative influence on the villagers. The employees of the companies located in the estate were residing in the village and as such beginning to outnumber the local population. They also felt that since there were only men, they were getting involved with the local girls and cases of cheating were reported.

The situation from their point of view has worsened and the causes which at that time were raised as solutions were not and remain unaddressed.

Industry by nature needs manpower. They do not look at where a person resides or is from before giving the job, they look for ability and willingness to do the job. The employee on the other hand prefers a job closer to home. If his home is far away he moves closer to his place of work to avoid commuting. That is why in Goa a lot of ancestral homes are empty in the village as the owners prefer to stay in the city close to schools and workplace.

The employees today come from other States, they get jobs in the Industrial estate and they go to the nearby areas and look for accommodation. For the residents of the nearby areas in this case Verna Village it offets an easy source of income, renting. As demand increases, almost every household begins to first rent the spare rooms inside their house and then build rooms in the open space in the compound to increase the capacity. Some encroach on available  open space and build there.

None of these rooms have adequate sanitation, electricity or water provisions and usually all of them flout the panchayat rules and building laws. As is expected, the occupants work hard in the factory and come and pay the rent to the landlord who I assume is still local. The landlord, earns his money without moving a muscle. If he worked eight hours in a day in the factory he would earn less. Given this situation, can we say that the benefit of the industrial estate in not coming to the local.

The local then argues but these outsiders work for very cheap rates. Assume that this is true. Who is aiding this action, the local? How? They make the cost of the room cheap by adding more rooms, reducing the space and not providing facilities. Then since staying is cheap the employee can accept a lower salary. If the accommodation was not available nearby he would have to go farther away and they the job is not so lucrative as transport cost kicks in.

Assume, that all building bye laws were followed, and then the amount of rooms available would definitely be reduced. The cost would increase as the landlord would have to provide sanitation importantly, FSI would have to be maintained, taxes would have to be paid to the panchayat etc., naturally the employee would then demand a higher salary from his employer. This higher rate may be more acceptable to the local living in the area. If you see the type of outsiders living in Verna, they are mostly working class with no great skill sets, so that means either the locals do not want that job or have a better alternative, currently it is renting.

The other issue that gets raised is social interaction. Having invited the men to stay in your house or compound and then not expecting a social interaction between the men and local women is akin to what Hillary Clinton said to Pakistan leadership, you cannot keep a snake in the backyard and expect it to bite only the neighbours. They are many instances of the women folk eloping and later being robbed and abandoned in the State the male worker originated from. There could also be some happy endings too.

Open defecation causes another major concern. Again if the building bye laws are followed, a toilet within the premises would be a must. If a landlord keeps more tenants, correspondingly more toilets would be needed. Is the panchayat looking at these aspects, are the locals demanding this from the panchayat? Or is it easier to go hammer and tongs at the industrial estate and create and us versus them syndrome and gain brownie points. Why is no one asking what is done with the funds collected from the taxes paid by the industry to the panchayat. Does that money not help develop the village? Penalising people if they defecate in the open or dump garbage is closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. Why not enforce the requirement of toilets?

The situation needs to be addressed quickly across Goa, with the Government working hard to make Goa an aspirational investment destination.

A possible recipe for Change: IN GOA FIRST

It was like a whiff of fresh air, away from the beaten track. Normally one community criticies the other for the various ills of the country. But last month, "The Goan Observer", a weekly, saw a prominent Hindu businessman Datta Naik pillorying the religious and political bigots from his own religion. He attacked their right to speak for moderate Hindus like him, and questioned their decision to say that Hindus alone are patriotic. He went a step further to ridicule discrimination amongst Hindus based on caste.
This I feel is the best way to combat communal, religious and political bigots. It is the moderate forces within each religious group that has to stand up and put the bigots within that religious group in their place. It would now be very difficult for these bigots to question the credentials of Mr. Naik. Similarly, as a Christian I feel it is time the Christians took a stand and distanced themselves from religious politics. It is time the Church took a Christian look at politics to save this crumbling edifice of public morality called politics. These unscrupulous and corrupt Christian politicians also use caste and community to further their own agendas with the church acting as a silent spectator.

Accusing the church of being a silent spectator to the sordid behavior of these so-called Catholic elected representative would be too mild. By omission or commission, it is unfortunate that the church actually participates actively in making these politicians pillars of our society. These corrupt politicians contribute financially to Church activities and in return are given pride of place in Church affairs. So how can one blame the youth for taking up the path of such leaders? What example is this for the youth, who emulate the “rags to riches” successes story of these elected representatives? We in turn create more corrupt leaders rather than grooming better leaders. The Church needs to break this vicious cycle.

There is little doubt that the church hierarchy -- and not Christian individuals -- ought to take the imitative. This is because Christians have an advantage by having Pope as the one religious leader. Then, there are the Bishops, who together form the Catholic Bishops Conference of India. Under this leadership, and with the Church network to back its decisions, it is indeed much easier to give the entire community, even the society, direction.

In the recent Lok Sabba elections in, until about two weeks before the election, I would not have wagered Re 1 on the Congress candidate. At least until the Church stepped in. Why the Church intervened I am not certain, but I am happy they did.. The intervention was in a veiled manner by way of issuing guidelines to voters not to vote for communal parties. Of course, no party was named. Come results, and the Congress candidate won by a thumping majority. That is the power of the Church. It did two things right -- first, gave its flock direction. Second, it trusted its flock to decide.

Recently, media reported of widespread protests by Catholic groups against a movie. They protested evidently because it depicted Catholics in a bad light. Are we not wasting our energies on inconsequential protests? Do real life Catholic politicians who cheat, are corrupt and communal not depicting Catholics in bad light, then how come there are no protests. Maybe we have come to accept this situation as a way of life.

It is time now for the Church to give its flock direction, by discarding, banishing and evicting corrupt politicians. This message must go out loud and clear at every opportunity. Then, let the people decide. People are aware of corrupt politicians, even those running illegal rackets. The media can play an important role of providing information on politicians. Together, the Church and the media can play an important role in cleaning society of corrupt and communal politicians.

You can be sure this is one time when corrupt politician will not want to face people’s verdict. The judicial courts may allow him to get away scot free, but with proper direction and information, the verdict of people’s court will sound the death knell for the immoral holding public office.

The communal side of the corrupt politician will argue that this will allow politicians of other religions to come to power. So be it, we do not want corrupt Christian politicians to be in power. Just because a Christian politician says the rosary does not give him the right to garner Christian votes. Christian votes should be for a politician who has a Christian way of life, irrespective of religious affiliation. This is what I meant by asking the church to shift from Catholic perspective to Christian politics.

The church can do it if we again consider the example available in the places I have lived in Mumbai, Aurangabad and Pune – predominantly Marathi speaking areas. Yet, 90 per cent of the religious services are in English. However, the church in Goa has decided to safeguard Konkani. So, while there are English masses, all children have to prepare for their first Holy Communion in Konkani because the church has decided that if they do not speak Konkani they are not Goans. Nowhere is it said that Catholics must speak Konkani. The point is, if required the church can and will doggedly follow its ideals, in this case to protect Konkani. So, if the church decides to cleanse public life it will have many soldiers who will execute these plans to the hilt.

When our non-Christian friends see us taking the lead in cleansing public life, they too will follow our example. Predictably, they will insist that their leaders on being non corrupt and non-communal.

I can see of no better way for the Church to play a reformist and active role, to bring Christian living in public life. As a Christian, one may sit back and say, `Well, let’s wait for the CHURCH to get its act together’. If your attitude is that, just remember, it is “CH” -- on the left and right “Ú”“R” in the middle. So more of us who are fed up with these corrupt and communal politicians must ask the church to step in and make the vital difference