THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2024
Eddie Viegas
During the last few years, we’ve been witnessing a spate of incidences where people have been opposing numerous development proposals by the ruling governments - ostensibly for the betterment of the people in Goa. It is time the ruling dispensations and their local representatives introspect and see for themselves the cause for such opposition from the very people whom they are supposed to serve. After all they were elected by the same people who are now at logger heads with them.
Goa, at the time of her liberation was like the proverbial “Innocent Child” suddenly thrust into the cacophony of politics and political high handedness by the powers that be. This resulted in both the politicians and the investors taking undue advantage of the soft mannered and hospitable Goans being taken for a ride. With a population of just about half a million at the time of liberation, today we are inching towards the two million mark mainly due to a heavy and unproportionate influx of migrants. Considering that most of Goan land comprises paddy fields, forests, hills and beaches, the land actually available for housing and settlement is very little.
As per the 2011 census the population density of Goa was 394 persons per sq km. This might look low as compared to the population density of UP which was 828/km² or Bihar at 1,102/km². However it is high as compared to MP which was 236/Km² and Rajasthan at 201/km². Our neighbouring District of North Kanara (Karwar) which is almost three times the size of Goa has a population density of 140/km². Yet it is a matter of shame and surprise that hardly any projects go to North Kanara which has a coastline of 140km, a railway through its length, a large number of fresh water bodies, beautiful beaches, high power production, an all weather port and potential for more ports along her 140 km coastline.
During the last few decades Goa’s agricultural lands and Communidade lands were rampantly used for projects such as Industrial Estates and housing which have had hardly any benefits for the Goans. Although a lot was promised by way of employment, etc to the locals it was discovered only at a later stage that the Goans were hoodwinked and cheated as these jobs were not what the Goans expected. This only resulted in more migration both into and out of Goa and resultant problems such as shortages of power and water, clusters of slums, disease, inadequate roads, more accidents, higher crime rates and even the menace of drugs. Over all one can say that the authorities created a Frankenstein’s Monster which we’re are unable to handle today. For example in Panchayat areas where water supply is scarce, we see four storied buildings. Is this really required ?
Today there is a hue and cry about projects such as the double tracking of railway lines and construction of highway through Mollem or even the IIT in the North. There is one thing very clear about the opposition to all these projects. It is the fact that these projects originate in the minds of the people on the top and they try to impose these onto the locals below. If the leaders involved had to discuss these matters with the people at the ground level the trust deficit and the opposition that has now surfaced between the citizens and Government would have been much less.
Our leaders if they truly love Goa should work towards retaining the pristine and natural outlook of our villages. Provide worthy and sustainable employment to our citizens; conserve our agricultural lands, forests and water bodies; work on small scale water harvesting and ground water charging projects; usher in new technologies for our agriculture, animal husbandry, etc; introduce recyclable power generating schemes; encourage self employment amongst youth; develop a clean and healthy type of tourism on the lines of Mauritius, Singapore or New Zealand, and above all look into the happiness quotient of our people instead of bringing in grandiose and unrealistic projects which in due course of time will only destroy Goa.
All this can be done by taking into confidence the Village Panchayats and the Gram Sabhas so that we follow the principle of a pyramid with a sound base and not the inverted pyramid as is being done now. After all, the goodness of the Culture of Goa is in her villages.
It was Mahatma Gandhi who had once remarked “If the village perishes, India will perish too. India will be no more India. Her own mission in the world will get lost.” The principle applies without doubt to Goa too.
