While Pacheco's planned entry into mining riches ended in disaster, Nilesh Cabral, the Curchorem MLA, Sanguem MLA Subhash Phaldessai, Sanvordem MLA Ganesh Gaonkar, Sanquelim MLA Pramod Sawant have flourished. All are BJP legislators. The Goa Mining People's Front convenor Suhas Naik has claimed that even police officers and Road Transport officers own mining trucks but have not registered them on purpose.

October 27-November 3, 2013
Lion Roars - 28
Mickky owes you Rs 5,52,00,000
If the Nuvem legislator Francisco Xavier Pacheco a.k.a Mickky does not become a minister in the next few years to get his hands on some really huge piles of cash, you and I can kiss goodbye to that hard cash that once was our tax money.  I am talking about the money he owes the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) which those in power and legislators (past and present) have looted for decades.  Mickky is also broke, a few months ago he tried to borrow a rather large sum of money from an ex-legislator.  When I asked his prospective lender if he had obliged him, his rhetorical reply was, “You can’t borrow Rs. 15,00,000 and expect to repay it within a week”.  Now, I wish EDC had the same business acumen as he did.

Mickky's company with the strangest of names, Giovanni and Zibronni Shipping Pvt. Ltd., incorporated on October 16, 2008 has Viola Rosaline Fernandes and Pacheco as directors. Early in 2009 when G & Z made headlines, the EDC went ballistic and even threatened legal action against the media. Its take then was that G & Z was sanctioned a loan of Rs. 4,00,00,000 to build a 2,200 tonne barge in July 2008 (before the firm was incorporated) against security of mortgage of barge, hypothecation of the barge pending creation of the mortgage, personal guarantees of the directors of the company and mortgage of collateral security by way of immoveable property, having a clear and marketable title. It said it disbursed Rs. 2,00,00,000 to the Company, solely on the strength of the valuation of the barge under construction and personal guarantees of the directors.

He had offered properties he owns under survey no. 102/7 and 104/5 in Colva Village and 87/10-A and 87/13 in Betalbatim Village as collateral.

Pacheco a liability?

Pacheco got EDC's largesse by holding just 5,000 equity shares of Rs 10 in G & Z. He last declared his pre-poll assets and liabilities to be Rs. 5,96,82,287 and Rs. 51,57,947, respectively. Strangely, there is no declaration or record of the EDC loan which almost matches his assets. He also took a loan of Rs. 1,59,000 from the government towards buying a car. This again is your hard earned tax money. Pacheco took another loan from the even more gullible Goa Cooperative Bank Ltd., Nagao, Verna branch to buy yet another car. The loan amount was Rs. 48,39,947. That makes it a total of Rs. 49,98,947 of your tax bucks which could go down the drain because it is tax money that is used to write off NPAs or non-performing assets at the end of the day.

Pacheco took yet another car loan of Rs. 1,59,000 from the Goa government taking his liabilities to a total of Rs. 51,57,947. As yet, we have not heard Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar blaming the earlier Congress government for loaning Pacheco such huge sums of money, but that is small mercy indeed.

Mining-dependent politcians -1

While Pacheco's planned entry into mining riches ended in disaster, Nilesh Cabral, the Curchorem legislator, owns 13 trucks, four excavators and two barges. The Sanguem legislator Subhash Phaldessai (assets:Rs 7,08,41,855) is a mining transport contractor and owns 18 trucks. The Sanvordem legislator Ganesh Gaonkar is a "dealer" in iron ore and also a transport contractor. The Sanquelim legislator Pramod Sawant owns two trucks. All four are BJP legislators. The Goa Mining People's Front convenor Suhas Naik has claimed that even police officers and Road Transport officers own mining trucks but have not registered them on purpose.

To understand how mining drives government in Goa which means it finances both the Congress and the BJP, let us consider for this week, how Subhash Phaldessai became a millionaire. In 2010, 2011, his official income was Rs. 79,92,288 and that of his wife Rs. 83,30,565.
Agricultural land he owns: area 3.79 acre purchased in November 2011 - cost Rs. 26,00,000.
Non-agricultural land he owns: area 3965.06 sq ft purchased in March 2011 - cost Rs. 2,99,000.
Area 3,846.7 sq ft - purchase in March 2011- cost Rs 2,90,000.
Area 1,41,225 sq ft purchased in December 2010 - cost Rs. 27,50,000.
Area 6,638.92 sq ft - purchase in February 2010 - cost Rs. 92,500.
Area 4,648.32 sq ft  purchased in February 2010 - cost Rs 64,800.
Area 53,800 sq ft  purchased in July 2009 - cost Rs 20,00,000.
Area 40,350 sq ft purchased in July 2011 - cost Rs. 19,09,687.
Area 10,351.12 sq ft purchased in August 2009 - cost Rs 2,40,000.
Area 4,949.6 sq ft  purchased in April 2010 - cost Rs. 1,00,000.
Area 9,684 sq ft  purchased in April 2010 - cost Rs. 5,40,000.
Area 3,965.06 sq ft -purchase date March 2011- cost Rs. 2,99,0000.
Area 3,846.7 sq ft  purchased in March 2011 - cost Rs 2,90,000.
Area 1,41,225 sq ft purchased in December 2010 - cost Rs 27,50,000.
Area 40,350 sq ft  purchased in July 2011- cost Rs 19,09,687.
Area 9,684 sq ft  purchased in April 2010 - cost Rs 5,40,000.
The millionaire Sanguem legislator spent more than double this amount on developing the lands he bought.

(To be continued)