3G TYPE SCAM IN ALLOTMENT OF PLOTS AT GIDC

My father who owned land in what is now called Verna Industrial Estate, died believing he owed money to the STATE. The land was acquired at 14/sq mt under urgency clause, subsequently on appeal it was valued at Rs 2/-, so he had to technically return the money. Belonging to a generation that neither borrowed or lent, it was too much, he had a stroke with the tension. Just before he died a court ruled that the land was to be valued at 48/- after 20 odd years, unfortunately GIDC appealed and since he could not ask GOD for another 20 years, he still does not know what his land was really worth.

However some GIDC officials knew the value of the land and despite being poor men have now become crorepatis. Ever since the SEZ land was allotted there has been total anarchy as far as allotments of plots especially in Verna. Being the former President I had a ring side view ofcourse without the details. On the face, there were no plots, yet one heard horror stories of how much an allottee had to pay to get a plot, if there were no plots how did they get it?

This question made me decide to use the RTI Act of 2005 to ferret out information. However the case which according to me represents all what is wrong in GIDC was unearthed more due to over zealousness of the GIDC field manager at Verna than RTI.

In Nov 09, the Government paying heed to the various complaints formed a TASK FORCE under the Industries Secretary to track and decide how to put unutilized lands to use among other things. I was named as a member along with P Joshi, and representatives of GSIA, CII & GCCI. In one of the meetings it was decided to have a joint inspection of so called unutilized lands since my RTI data from GIDC, DITC data and data submitted by GIDC did not tally. The members of the joint team were GIDC Field Manager, DITC manager and representative of GSIA.

After the team finished the inspection of Verna and were signing the report, my attention was drawn to a change made in the status of one allottee, MEHUL DEVELOPERS PVT LTD. The Field Manager had changed the status from “VACCANT” to “UNDER CONSTRUCTION”. A foolish move, as the google images would have shown the correct picture. I put a remark and decided to dig deeper.

The Plot first allotted to Santosh Kust Desai as per 289th board resolution no 2 dated 3rd Aug 2006. He was given 35000 sq mts for setting up a warehouse. The resolution is subject to him satisfying two conditions viz. Submit financial sanction for plant and machinery, submit project report and 2) submit PAN card. Like many allotments that day, no mention is made of the PLOT No.

It is not clear if he submitted the papers before getting the allotment. This can be checked, but if he had not yet submitted his project report how did GIDC put the following figures in the agenda papers Project cost Rs 350 lacs and machinery cost Rs 20 lacs. GIDC’s basic requirement as per citizen’s charter of SSI registration was waived.

Another feature of this meeting was the fact that after this the GIDC resolved to change the premium rate from 600/- to 750/-. Many allotments were made in this meeting and one that needs to be studied further is “Costal logistics Infrastructure Pvt ltd”, they were allotted 50000 sq mts of non existant land, the directors/promoters appear to be benami relations of some GIDC officials. One senior GIDC official looked at the agenda and named the relatives, hence it is being singled out despite the fact that there were others issued land with no plot nos.

Again in BOD meeting no 294 held on 15 Feb 2007, under additional items agenda no 14 states “Allotment of Utility plot no U03 ad measuring 35000 sq mts in Verna Industrial Estate Phase IV to Santosh Kust Desai” . The resolution no 38/2007 passed by the board reads” Resolved unanimously that the proposal to approve the allotment of utility plot U03 admeasuring 35000 sq mts in VIE, Phase IV to Ms/ Mehul Developers Pvt. Ltd ( company under formation) for their IT/ITES project subject to compliance of our usual terms and conditions be and is hereby approved”

Nowhere in the agenda note does Mehul Developers name appear, not even in the proposed resolution. The agenda note mentions change of project from warehousing to IT/ITES. The rate of land stays at 600/- sqm. Despite the project changing the cost of project stays at Rs 350 lacs and Machinery Rs 20 lacs. Meaning no one applied their mind. The remark at the bottom states clearly that the party has submitted Project Report and manpower requirements. Based on above sounds difficult to believe because you cannot do a warehousing project in 35000 sq mts with 15000 built up in Rs 3.5 crores. Even at a modest 5000/sq mt yu would need 9.6 crorse for land and building. If you were putting up a IT/ITES project you would need much more. Who ever studied the project report and informed the BOD that it is ok, needs to be investigated for fraud.

Once Mehul was allotted the plot, the picture changes, was it treated as a transfer, were transfer charges paid. If it was a fresh allotment, the rate should be 750/sq mt. What did Mehul pay?The agenda note says Mehul is a Company under formation, according to the ROC it was formed 27 July 2006, much before this board meeting with a capital of One Lac rupees. The cost of the land even at 750/sq mt is Rs 2.63 crores. Who funded the acqusition, from where did the money come, did they pay GIDC the full value? etc these question need to be asked.

The GIDC board decided to ban transfers of plots, 30 Sept 2008 was set as the cutoff date. In an unsigned statement to the BOD, a list of 13 pending applications are shown as on the cutoff date. 12 of these are applications dated either 29 sept 2008 and 30 Sept 2008, talk of insider trading. Mehul Developers Pvt Ltd is also listed here. The Transferee company mentioned is BOSCH. So while a multinational like BOSCH is looking for a plot we have a Rs 1 lac capital company sitting on the plot. Had GIDC studied the case it is possible that this plot would have been available for BOSCH when they applied. After all to set up a project on 35000 sq mts of land you would need some credentials.

The reply under RTI to a query on transfers pending lists a pending transfer between Mehul Developers Pvt Ltd and M/s BOSCH Ltd, no date is given as to when defiency note was issued, but the reason transfer is pending is strange. “PARTY HAS NOT SUBMITTED THE DOCUMENTS AND IS IRREGULAR IN PAYMENTS”, this means that GIDC has not received it payments as per schedule form MEHUL and yet not revocation letter was issued. Also the fact that the IDC Field Manager tried to mention “Under Construction” implies that construction license was issued. This again has to be investigated as to why construction license was issued if party had defaulted.?

This case itself is good enough for the Government to order a full scale investigation as it shows that the rot is deep and goes to the top. There is a major racket and it needs serious looking into. The other areas that need further investigation for which I have preliminary data under RTI, but will take too long to get more. The rush now is because the culprits are trying to cover their tracks.



Mentioned above is the case of Costal Logistics, with its benami holding on behalf of the GIDC officials it needs more investigations. Transfers of land are another area, RTI data suggests the fastest transfer within a day and the longest more than 1 year. Some case are still pending for paperwork. If GIDC make some study and asks questions how can the process be completed in less than a month given how GIDC works.? Obviously other factors are involved. What queries are generally required to be answered, were those with quick transfers asked the same or were these questions overlooked.?

Out of turn allotments. According to GIDC Citizens Charter, plot allotments are based on First Come First served policy. Assuming that applicant has met all the requirements. However perusal of allotments made and list of wait listed applicants given by GIDC shows that the policy is followed more in breach than policy. This clearly points to the fact that the only reason to allot a plot to someone lower down in the list ahead of the others is pecuniary gain. A vigilance inquiry into the financial dealings of the officers authorized to allot the plots will give more light on the issue.

Sudin Naik, former President of GSIA and Prashant Shinde, President of Verna Industries Association have complained about these out of turn allotments despite being in the waiting list. Sudin and Shinde mention that since the exact size of plot applied for was not available, they were not offered a larger or smaller plot as first preference. Yet in case of Santosh Kust Desai, who applied for 30000 sq mts, based on security deposit paid but was automatically offered 35000 sq mts. Arbitrary to say the least.

Related to this is the fact that plots under 10000 sq mts are directly allotted by the MD without BOD consent. Infact the minutes of the 288th BOD held on 6th July 2006, Agenda Item 14, the BOD has asked for a list unitwise of such plots and hence the item was deferred.

My RTI query on how many plots were revoked by GIDC and subsequently broken up into small plots and allotted directly is pending. In Pilerne a 30000 sq mt plot was revoked, and then broken up into smaller plots and allotted to marble sellers while manufacturing waits for plots. Breaking up a plot is a loss to the exchequer as GIDC would lose land to provide access to plots. No permissions appear to be taken either from the board or TCP.

GIDC follows the TCP rules in reply to an RTI query. Yet there have no record of permissions taken when the plots are subdivided or relocated or status changed from open to industrial . When queried on open spaces GIDC says that no opens spaces were allotted, opens space have been repositioned. The Leader of the Opposition and Mr. Datta Naik have been allotted plots where once opens spaces were marked, for no fault of theirs. How can simple reallocation lead to creation of plots? Therefore this needs to be investigated. Reallocation or shifing open spaces is contrary to the circular issued by Chief Secretary No 32/1UDD/MUN/2002 on 10th Jun 2002 based on a HC Order dated 8/1/2002. The circular is categorical that open spaces marked by development authorities cannot be utilized or interfered with without the consent of the stake holder, in this case GIDC BOD would have been the minimum. According to sources in GIDC, the open spaces allocated was 15%, someone decided that the max required is 10% and thus the open spaces were allotted. This went against the HC ruling.

In Verna, between Cyratron and Navhind Times is an open space above which a HT line passes. This open space in contravention of the above circular and Electricity department rules has a few structures on the same below the power line. It is there for all to see that there is power to flout the law.

In short GIDC is a can of worms that needs to be sorted out if Goa has to develop industrially and if the sacrifices of the original land owners has to be of use to the State. Currently there is no heed paid to industrial projects, it is a simple case, if you can pay the premium take the plot irrespective of the fact that there is a viable project or not.

The Government must act quickly, remove those involved in plot allotments and simultaneously begin an enquiry using those agencies that can search and investigate without waiting for RTI information. The income tax department would be useful in unearthing the illegal payments that would have accompanied the tradeoffs made for allotment.

The Congress President hit the nail on the head when she said corruption stems from land allotments. She has asked her governments to be vigilant and stop the corrupt practices. Will the government in Goa act and give relief to those who sacrificed their lands for Goa’s development?

Only time will tell.

Blaise Costabir

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

CONTRIBUTE FOR A BETTER GOA

DRP2021: Your Opportunity to Act

The idea behind this article is to motivate as many to read the actual text and having read it, to make comments, suggestions and objections to the TCP Department. It in no way will attempt to be a synopsis of the actual document.

The RP task force was formed against a backdrop of the most successful people’s movement in recent times. Hence any group, starting a new exercise to frame the RP for Goa would have the people’s aspirations in front of them.

Still rather than depend on media reports and believe what was said during the agitation to be the people’s will, the TF opened it doors to individuals (letters also received), NGO’s, peoples rep, government departments who stated the situation and their future plans. It was a massive exercise, but the underlying appeal in all interactions was “Preserve Green & Golden Goa”. The TF attempted to keep minutes but to my mind an impossible task since the final product was arrived by listening, reading, discussion, email, changing, adding, subtracting in no particular order. My suggestion for future such exercises would be to video record every meeting for posterity.

Old wine in a new bottle seems to be the establishments response to the fact that Eco I and Eco II are marked accounting for almost 80% of Goa’s land area. What is different this time is it is marked and the map is available to every Tom, Dick and Bostiao. This was not true previously. Hence now that every one is aware it will be more difficult to manipulate on a case to case basis.

This reference to mapping brings me to what I consider the best part of RP2021. One thing that even if all else fails (which it will not) still the RP2021 will be a very progressive document. That one aspect is mapping. For the first time the maps have been digitized. The base document was the TOPOGRAPHICAL (topo) sheet and survey maps. These were correlated and reconciled. The reconciled maps were then cross checked with aerial and satellite to confirm the maps made.

These digitized maps have now been overlaid with plans/data of Government departments (power/ water) but more importantly map accurately the eco-senstitive zones of the State, non developable slopes have been identified, paddy field marked based on land revenue records. All this points to one thing: TRANSPERANCY FOR AAM ADMI. Earlier the 2D paper maps allowed for a great deal of ambiguity and flexibility for interpretation. They were not easily available, now the digitized maps will be available at every panchayat/ Taluka office.

The Draft RP 2021 also has not converted a square inch of land. The land use as shown in the maps is based on the RP2001, plus the approx 2000 gazette changes made after that and 1971 settlements which were not shown in RP2001 earlier. This implies that if you know a particular land was say an orchard and now in the DRP21 you notice it is showing as settlement, please notify the TCP department. They will check if what you say is true, because it is possible between 2001 and 2008, the land use might have been changed by a gazette notification. If there is no notification then the error can and must be rectified. The people must be vigilant; the TF has not changed any land use status. But the TF will accept that since the maps were built from scratch there is a possibility of errors creeping in. Doing a 100% check before releasing would have meant holding back the entire plan for eternity.

Coming back to the reason why we needed an RP: Planned, sustainable development. The TF has recommended that the Government develops the hinterland (midlands) to A) prevent the intra migration from Midlands to costal belt. B) Give opportunity to population around the areas selected. The hubs proposed are Pernem, Usgao-Dharbandora and Quepem. The logic was that these places lie on nodes created by the intersection of major roads or with the railway. The major road is the proposed bypass from Pernem to Canacona. This bypass would do two things it will take the load of the existing NH17, and two connect the hinterland better. Through traffic ie traffic passing through Goa could use this bypass and thus reduce the traffic congestion on NH17. By developing nodes industrially it would provide alternative job options for locals and they would not have to migrate to the coastal areas for livelihood.

The hubs have been designated as educational, medical, logistics and industrial. A cruise terminal and marinas have also been proposed to attract high end tourists. Given the unutilized land or buildings in industrial estates, the TF recommended IDC to look at their future acquisitions again. The acquisitions should only be in the areas around the proposed hubs and there should be transparency in allotment and utilization which was found lacking.

Despite objections from industry the DRP recommended restrictions on mining, due to the inherent nature of the business. Thus they felt that having mining activity near a water body or inside the forest would not fit the description of sustainable. An emphasis was made on biotechnology as it supports enhancing the agricultural activity which is important. Suggestions have been made to increase the agricultural land under cultivation. Chief among them is if a tenant keeps his land fallow, it should revert to the Government and then handed over to either a society or an individual who will till the same. This is actually an existing law which needs strong political will to be implemented.

Education was another area where despite Goa’s high literacy rate, the system was found wanting. The jobs and the education was mismatched. The jobs and the preferences were mismatched. For eg: why have steel units in the State when locals do not want to work in them, they also use a lot of Goa’s scarce resource- power. Hence in future, non polluting industry which Goans prefer to work in should be encouraged.

This can go on but that would distract the reader from the actual objective, which is to motivate the reader to pick up the DPR 2021 and get involved. This is your chance to participate in the future of this State, if you care. A copy of the DRP can be got form the TCP office on payment of Rs 400/- else visit the VP or Taluka office and see the same there. The exercise will end Feb 15, 2009. oppose if you must but be constructive and give an alternative. Awake dear friend, you have a lot at stake – “YOUR FUTURE”.

Accepting MBA's in MSME units

Small Is Beautiful

In 1992 I wrote the following article as an employee in the small scale sector. Today I have my own MSME unit. I feel that part one still holds true, but there is another side to the coin, as an employer in the small scale sector. The objective of this article is to open the eyes of SSI employers to MBA’s and there usefulness in today’s competitive world.

Employees Birds Eye View:

Employers Perspective: It is very evident that the SSI unit has much to offer to the MBA. yet very few prefer this option unless forced to by situation or born into the situation. As the unit begins to grow the owner finds he cannot cope with the growing needs of the business and its customers in terms of time. Earlier, at the start-up stage he oversaw production, marketing, finance and administration. Today because of growth he begins to find he has to be in to many places at the same time.

It would have helped if he had some systems, some reports so that he can control functional areas by exception. Of course the owner knows by gut-feel where the problems lies but he does not have the time to tackle it but on the other hand the business cannot afford a full time salary overhead. At this point there seems to be just one option, carry on the one man show and hope for the best. Usually the situation will worsen. Either the owner will neglect his customers or production will suffer or some government dept. returns will be effected.

The above will draw reactions like “We manage” Or “Its not that Bad”. But honestly to survive today growth is imperative, volumes or variety, are the key. So whether we like it or not we have to grow and if we can get some help the better.

I feel there is an option. An option that helps you get assistance part-time. An option, that gets you used to working with professional. So that when you are ready you can afford, hire and keep MBA’s full time. Your reaction, would most likely be “Why do I need an MBA ? anyone will do, I can train him.” Exactly, the reason you need MBA’s is that you do not have time to run your growing business, leave alone train someone. An MBA has spent two years learning the ropes in school. Ofcourse reality is different, but they learn to adjust. More importantly they are armed with concepts that if implemented properly can benefit your Organisation.

My suggestion has two parts, one is the orientation portion and the second is the permanent portion.

The first step would be to hire MBA students to do small projects for your unit. It could be a market study, process/layout analysis with regard to efficiency or maybe plain valuation of inventory lying around the units premises. This would help sort out issues pending because you did not have time. It would get you accustomed to working with people who think and can suggest, a bit different from working with people who only take instructions. It would mean getting the job done but not carrying a fixed cost. For different functional are you could hire different students as they also have areas of specialisation and the projects could be taken up as the previous one get completed.

The benefit to the student is he gets hands-on experience. Something they need but do not enough. They get exposed to the SSI sector and can see the potential for learning and growth in the SSI. Something they will find hard to believe by just reading this article.

Once the employers starts working with MBA’s under training, he will get confident to ask them to do bigger projects. With the business growing there will come a time when he will feel he can handle a full-time MBA. By then he will have learnt to handle them- PROFESSIONALLY, and will therefore be able to retain them.

There will be many pros & cons to this approach but the best way to find out the taste of a cake, is to eat it. So my fellow SSI owners go ahead and give it a try, you have nothing to lose but your inhibitions.

Blaise Costabir, Managing Director GMI Zarhak Moulders Pvt Ltd. Visiting Faculty Goa Institute of Management