Panaji: Transport minister Mauvin Godinho said the state is determined to procure additional buses “by hook or crook”, after a promised donation of 500 buses from an IIT alumni association fell through when the group sought land in Goa in exchange for funding the fleet, a condition the minister refused to entertain.Godinho recently met chief minister Pramod Sawant to explore ways to expand the state’s bus fleet, particularly to improve connectivity to industrial estates. Currently, just Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited serves the Verna industrial estate, ferrying workers to and from the area.Explaining the collapse of the IIT alumni initiative, Godinho said the group had initially offered 500 buses, on which the department had pinned significant hopes.“What I came to know afterwards from some of them was that they were eyeing to come and settle in Goa. They were trying to get some land, so they were ready to spend their funds for the buses, provided Goa gave them land,” he said. “Land is a scarce commodity, and I did not agree to that. When the file came to me, I said it cannot be done, and it cannot be quid pro quo. You are not doing any public service to the cause — so that was a little bit of a setback for us.”Compounding the funding crunch, Godinho said the Centre’s FLAME scheme, under which the state received support for electric buses, was withdrawn abruptly by central govt, leaving the department facing a paucity of funds to expand its fleet.Goa’s manufacturing sector has urged govt to improve the state’s transportation system. The lack of an efficient and round-the-clock transportation system hampers movement of staff, say industrialists.Despite the setbacks, Godinho said govt has resolved to push ahead. “A few days back, we had a meeting with the chief minister, and somehow, we have decided by hook or crook, we are going to get additional buses and see that transportation improves,” he said, adding that better connectivity would also benefit various industries. “Maybe things happen faster because of the elections,” he said.
