By Marcellus D’Souza

Apr 13: Alex Reginaldo Lourenco, the ‘big’ man from Curtorim has been made Chairman of Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) in a fresh trance of positions distributed by Goa’s Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.

Alex Lourenco was the first Independent MLA to extend support to the government on March 10 after the declaration of the results for the recently held elections to the assembly.

Many of Alex Lourenco supporters as well as political pundits opine that this position offered to him is a ‘climb down’ and that he should have been offered a ministerial position in the cabinet. But chief minister Pramod Sawant was caught in a Catch 22 situation. He had the option to compromise one BJP MLA who was sworn-into the Cabinet as lately as Saturday but that was not to be and did not pan out as was envisaged.
Just a day prior to being appointed as Chairperson of GIDC, Leader of the Opposition in the Goa Assembly Michael Lobo and Calangute MLA had invited Alex Lourenco back into the Congress fold.

The olive branch was held out to him as although he had extended his support to the Pramod Sawant government he was not offered a position of consequence. Alex Lourenco was not allowed into the Congress party again after he had left the Congress and flirted with the TMC briefly. The Congress, under former Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) chief Girish Chodankar had termed Alex Lourenco a ‘deserter’ when he attempted to rejoin the Congress party. Alex Lourenco fought the assembly elections as an Independent candidate, in an open dare to the grand-old party, and won the seat by 8960 votes or 40.12% of the vote share.

Michael opined, “Reginaldo has to take a decision and we will try and persuade him to join the Congress. He will be taken back with the same experience and seniority in the Congress”. But the offer was spurned by Alex Lourenco. He has decided stay with his decision to support the BJP government, although he had opposed the BJP in the past, including former chief minister Manohar Parrikar.

Senior Congress MLA from Nuvem Alexio Sequeira, had disapproved of the way the Congress party had treated Reginaldo Lourenco and shunted him out from the party for his action of joining the TMC briefly.

The 59-year-old Alex Lourenco is a three term member of the Goa Legislative Assembly for Curtorim. He has served on the following committees in the House till 2021. Estimates Committee; Committee On Petitions; Select Committee on The Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory; Committee On Public Undertakings; Member, Select Committee On The Goa Agricultural Tenancy (Amendment); Select Committee On The Goa Land Use (Regulation, Amendment); Select Committee On The Goa Mundkars (Protection from Eviction) and Select Committee On The Goa Public Service Guarantee.

The GIDC was established in 1966 under the provisions of the provisions of Goa, Daman and Diu Industrial Development Act, 1965 with an aim and objective of securing and assisting in the rapid and orderly establishment of industries in Industrial Areas and Industrial Estates in Goa.

One of the important activities of the Corporation is setting up of Industrial Estates and offer developed plots to industrial units. In pursuance of its objectives, the GIDC has so far established 20 Industrial Estates in Goa, Daman and Diu, viz Corlim, Margao, Sancoale, Daman, Mapusa, Tivim, Bicholim, Kakoda, Honda, Bethora, Canacona, Kundaim, Diu, Tuem, Verna, Cuncolim, Pilerne, Marcaim, Pissurlem and Colvale.

Alex Lourenco takes over the GIDC at a time when the industrial atmosphere is sluggish due to the recent Covid epidemic and the raging war between Russia and Ukraine.