The collective will of the people can surely move mountains, or at the very least, some smaller peaks. When the Mormugao Municipal Council, passed a resolution on Friday, to oppose all three expansions plans of the MPT, whose effect would be to facilitate a quantum leap in the movement of coal through Goa, they displayed a rare solidarity with the ordinary people of Goa.
The relationship between municipal bodies and the public has been tenuous and fragile over a variety of issues including parking, clearing of garbage, levelling of house taxation and so on. But coal pollution issue has led to the hitherto unlikely building of bridges. In fact when Herald conducted a debate in the city of Vasco for its TV arm HCN over a year and a half ago called “Battle for Vasco”, the section on coal pollution was the most heated with the chief officer of the MMC, pledging to personally lead a protest on the streets of Vasco to stop coal laden trucks, unless the MPT mitigated coal pollution completely.
In the last eight days, the public hearings on the MPT expansion projects have turned into a mini referendum or an opinion poll where the opinion to ban the expansion of projects, seems to be winning by a clear margin. Vasco has truly united Goa. The sight of 11-year-old Sherwyn Savio Correia, “speaking on behalf of youth and children of Vasco”, has been the defining image of this eight day public hearing , which in reality was a massive public agitation. Correia’s heart rending account of how the desks in his classroom, in his school were covered with coal dust, had a greater effect than hours of speeches – albeit well meaning and also very powerful – across the other days. And read yet again what the young hero said, “If this is the amount of coal dust that settles on our desks, I cannot fathom the amount each child has inhaled over the last several years.” We called Sherwyn Correia the ‘voice of the future’.
It is therefore extremely satisfying that the Mormugao Municipal Council had chosen to cut across all lines and leanings to back a pure pan Goa citizen’s movement since the council indeed has some powers to exercise pressure and influencing opinion. For instance, based on an earlier resolution, it had asked the Collector South Goa to implement an earlier council resolution to ban coal transportation through Vasco. After the eight day public hearing, the MMC has resolved to send a reminder to the South Goa collector.
In a long drawn out people’s struggle the final goal – in this case end of coal transportation through Vasco – may take time to come. But victory lies in the little successes. The sheer passion exhibited by the people of Goa, is no less sweet than the final expected one, and if this passion is backed by a local urban body, whose mandate is to serve the city, then every agitation of this nature gets a fillip.
And it does get results. While neither the MPT nor the government has said much, barring the MPT Chairman’s controversial remark that “outsiders” were leading the agitation, never has the MPT, the project proponents and perhaps even the government, gone into such a huddle, worried about the intensity of the people’s opposition to the expansion projects. Clearly the MPT was outnumbered when it came to pitching its view amidst the multitude of genuine stake holders who spoke against further coal pollution, in their town.
While the final hearings on coal expansion may set the agenda to rethink, pause and relook, it will also forge a bond between the city “fathers” and the city folk. This is one of democracy’s most welcome fall outs. Shall we then say ‘So not Coal’.
