Arpora was not just a tragedy; it was a rupture. Twenty-five lives were extinguished in a place that should never have been allowed to exist in the form it did, laying bare the deadly cost of governance by neglect. What unfolded that night was not misfortune, but the inevitable consequence of illegal operations, ignored warnings and a system that chose profit and protection over people.
Arpora stripped away the glamour of Goa’s nightlife and exposed the rot beneath – forcing a moment of reckoning that the state can no longer afford to evade. Savio Rodrigues, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, GoaChronicle.com speaks on condition of anonymity to a Former Goa Government Officer on Goa’s illegal night club economy.
GoaChronicle (GC): You served the Goa government for over three decades. You’ve enforced laws, signed files, led inspections. Let me start bluntly. Are nightclubs in Goa legal?
Former Government Officer (FGO): Blunt questions deserve blunt answers. No. There is no such thing as a “nightclub licence” under Goa’s laws. It does not exist in the statute book. What exists are bar licences, eating house permissions, cabaret permissions in some cases, and various no-objection certificates. The term “nightclub” is a convenient fiction. Legally, these places should not be operating the way they do.
GC: Yet Goa has become synonymous with nightclubs. How does this contradiction survive?
FGO: Through systematic abuse of loopholes and deliberate blindness. A bar licence is used as a cover for a full-scale nightclub operation – DJ nights, dance floors, extended hours, foreign performers, drug circulation. Every officer knows this. Every politician knows this. The file moves because it is made to move.
GC: Let’s talk about money. You’ve told me off record that this industry runs on monthly payments. Put it on record now.
FGO: I will, because pretending otherwise is insulting the intelligence of Goans. Monthly kickbacks range anywhere between ₹10 lakh to over ₹20 lakh per establishment. It depends on the location, the scale, the political backing, and the “risk profile.”
GC: Risk profile?
FGO: How many complaints, how visible the violations are, how close it is to residential areas, whether it has attracted national attention. High-risk clubs pay more. That money doesn’t go to one person. It is distributed across a chain – local police, excise officials, panchayat-level enforcers, district administration, and political intermediaries.
GC: Are you saying the system is institutionalised?
FGO: Absolutely. This is not random corruption. This is an organised revenue model. Think of it as an illegal tax system parallel to the government’s own. The irony is that the government earns peanuts from official fees compared to what is earned unofficially.
GC: You’ve also claimed that some clubs earn between ₹20 lakh to ₹60 lakh a day. That sounds unbelievable to the average Goan.
FGO: It sounds unbelievable only if you don’t see the cash flow. Entry fees, alcohol sales, VIP tables, narcotics – which nobody wants to talk about – sponsorships, after-hours parties. On peak weekends and during the tourist season, ₹40–60 lakh a day is not exaggerated. Even on a slow day, ₹15–20 lakh is routine for the bigger players.
GC: Then why would anyone shut this down?
FGO: Exactly. You’ve answered your own question. When so much money is involved, morality disappears. Law becomes negotiable. Enforcement becomes optional.
GC: Where do political leaders come into this?
FGO: Political leaders are the shield. Orders don’t always come in writing. They come as phone calls, messages, “requests.” A raid is planned, then mysteriously cancelled. A closure notice is issued, then stayed. An FIR is diluted. Transfers happen overnight. Officers who try to act are labelled as ‘non-cooperative’
GC: And bureaucrats posted from outside Goa?
FGO: Many of them arrive with no emotional or cultural stake in Goa. For them, this is a posting, not a home. Some become tools, others become beneficiaries. When you combine that with pressure from Delhi-based political influencers or business lobbies, local officers are reduced to clerks executing someone else’s will.
GC: Are you suggesting Goa is being run remotely?
FGO: In parts, yes. Decisions that affect Goa’s social fabric are influenced by people who don’t live here, don’t raise families here, and don’t suffer the consequences. Goa is treated as a cash cow, not a society.
GC: Let me push you further. What happens when complaints come from citizens?
FGO: They are managed. Either the complainant is exhausted through delays, or intimidated, or offered a compromise. Noise complaints, law and order issues, safety violations – everything is “looked into.” Files are marked “under consideration” until the season ends.
GC: And tragedies? Accidents? Deaths?
FGO: Those are the moments when the system panics. Temporary crackdowns happen. A few sacrificial closures are ordered. But once public anger fades, business resumes. The lesson learned is not “enforce the law” but “manage optics better next time.”
GC: As an officer, did you ever feel complicit?
FGO: Every honest officer does. The system forces you into moral corners. You either resist and get sidelined, or you survive by staying silent. Silence becomes the currency of survival.
GC: Why speak now?
FGO: Because Goa is reaching a breaking point. This is no longer about nightlife or tourism. It’s about lawlessness becoming normalised. Young people see this and learn that rules are for fools. That connections matter more than character.
GC: What would it take to dismantle this nexus?
FGO: Political will, first and last. Clear legal definitions. Transparent licensing or an outright ban where law doesn’t permit activity. Independent enforcement insulated from local and external pressure. And most importantly, consequences – real ones.
GC: Do you believe the current leadership can do this?
FGO: I believe leadership is constantly tested by temptation. Goa’s nightlife economy is a temptation few have resisted. Whether anyone will now choose reform over revenue – official or unofficial – remains to be seen.
GC: Final question. If the people of Goa knew the full truth, what would shock them the most?
FGO: Not the money. Not the illegality. What would shock them is how many signatures, how many seals, how many “respectable” offices are involved in keeping this machine running. This is not a rogue system. This is a cooperative one.
(This interview is published in public interest. The former officer has requested anonymity for personal safety.)
