TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Seeking help to salvage Goan identity, culture and the scarce land resources, Goa’s Movement for Special Status has urged Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik to make the genuine demand of special status a prominent agenda of the Congress manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
A GMFSS delegation led by president Prajal Sakhardande called on the Rajya Sabha MP at his Gogol residence on Tuesday noon and submitted a memorandum demanding special status for the state.
They appealed to Naik to take up the matter with the central government, exhorting it to grant special status for Goa under Article 371 of the Constitution of India after the Lok Sabha polls 2014.
The MP gave the delegation a patient hearing and reminded them about his initiative at the Centre on the subject.
The memorandum pointed out that special status would help save scarce land from uncontrolled, unchecked and unregulated influx of migrants, including the elite, which is changing the demographic profile of Goa. “It would help reduce pressure on basic amenities caused by such influx. Even as Goa enjoys one of the lowest birth rates in India, the continuous influx has pushed up the population density to unsustainable levels, placing tremendous pressure on day-to-day infrastructure including water, power, roads and transport, sewage and garbage disposal”, the memorandum stated.
Sakhardande later told the media that GMFSS founded by late Matanhy Saldanha way back in 2008 has been waging a sustained battle to strive for special status for Goa to help save land for posterity. “Land, which is already scarce in Goa, is being traded indiscriminately by unscrupulous elements from all over the country. Land is being sold indiscriminately to builders from all over the country and the world, at exorbitant rates”, he said.
