Goa Chief Minister Overrides Technical Warnings to Greenlight Massive Casino Vessel
In a controversial decision, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has approved the entry of a 112-meter-long offshore casino vessel into the Mandovi river, directly ignoring explicit safety concerns and technical objections raised by senior port authorities. The approval was granted to Delta Corp subsidiary Delta Pleasure Cruises, allowing it to replace the older MV Royale floatel with the significantly larger vessel.
Port Officials Flag Serious Navigational Hazards
Documents obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) Act reveal that the Captain of Ports strongly opposed the move, warning that the vessel's size "may create a navigational hazard due to so many vessel clusters" and could cause a dangerous bottleneck at the requested position in the river. This concern was echoed by then ports secretary and IAS officer P S Reddy, who raised a red flag in official file notings.
Reddy emphasized that Goa currently lacks a comprehensive policy and clear guidelines for bringing such large vessels into its inland water channels. He specifically recommended that "technical feasibility needs to be conducted by technical experts to ascertain what is the maximum size of vessels that can be brought into the Zuari, the Mandovi and other Goan inland waters, bearing in mind the navigational safety of the vessels."
Existing Regulations and CM's Override
The ports department had clearly established that vessel length in Goan waters is restricted to 90 meters, though permissions are occasionally granted to shipyards to construct vessels up to 120 meters for operations in other states or countries. Despite these regulations and the department's expressed concerns, Chief Minister Sawant directed officials to "convey no objection to the applicants to proceed" with the vessel replacement.
This decision has sparked significant public backlash, with citizens organizing under the 'Ponnjekars Against Casinos' banner demanding the immediate withdrawal of permissions. Former CCP corporator Patricia Pinto argued that "the chief minister's approval has to be withdrawn. It is not a technical opinion and he has no right to decide on this under the Indian Ports Act. He cannot give technical decisions."
Local Concerns and Political Reactions
Local residents have expressed alarm about potential emergency scenarios, noting that in case of disaster, responsibility would fall on the Captain of Ports rather than the political leadership that approved the vessel. AAP Goa president Valmiki Naik highlighted the vessel's massive scale, stating "This boat is bigger than some of the buildings in Panaji. The chief minister has given permissions against the advice and suggestions given by people with technical know-how, such as the secretary of ports and the Captain of Ports."
The controversy underscores ongoing tensions between political decision-making and technical expertise in Goa's governance, particularly regarding the sensitive issue of casino operations in the state's waterways. The approval process has raised questions about adherence to safety protocols and regulatory frameworks when economic interests are at stake.
