SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2024
In the pretext of promoting tourism, the Goa government has made it a habit of approving infrastructure projects in ecologically sensitive areas in the State, be it in the coastal regions or the villages lying within the Western Ghats. The proposed Marina project is one such glaring example.
Kargwal Constructions Private Limited, an infrastructure developer based in Mumbai, had proposed to develop a yacht Marina at Nauxim village in Bambolim. A concession agreement to this effect, valid for 30 years, was signed with the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) in October 2010. Under the agreement, MPT has leased 10 hectares of waterfront area to the developer. The area comes within the port limits of the Trust, as notified under the Indian Ports Act, 1908.
On the surface, this particular Marina project is supposed to bring in a lot of revenue as it would boost the kind of high-end tourism the government seems to be propagating, with boats and yachts, along with hotels and restaurants. Ideally, there cannot be any objection to a project like this. But the point is that there’s much more to it that meets the eye. Primarily, the location and the choice of this project has left people suspicious of the government's intentions.
So far, the project was kept on hold because the environmental clearance of the project remained suspended, without which the project could not move ahead. Recently, a lot of people were surprised and rattled when the appraisal committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoFE&CC) found there was no requirement for an environmental clearance (EC) for the Marina project in the State.
The Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott (GRE), with other traditional fishermen associations and activists, had strongly voiced their opposition to the government’s plans to establish a Marina project as part of the Sagarmala initiative.
They even pointed towards the findings of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Old Goa, which stated that the entire Zuari estuary in which Nauxim Bay is situated, has rich marine biodiversity, consisting of more than 186 aquatic species and other coastal ecosystems and will displace traditional fishermen, right from Velsao to Miramar.
According to the civil society groups, the projects that are coming up are not for the wellbeing of Goa. Yet the government is bringing the Marina Projects against the wishes of the fishermen.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant of course has completely dismissed the opposition to this project. This kind of approach, although not new, continues to cast doubts on the government’s seriousness regarding environment conservation.
An excerpt from the Mormugao Port Authority (MPA)’s affidavit (earlier known as MPT) in the High Court states: “Although more than 11 years have elapsed since the execution of the lease deed, neither has Kargwal Constructions Private Limited being the project proponents have neither submitted the final No Objection Certificates required for the Marina project, including environmental clearances, nor has physical possession of the leased area been handed over to Kargwal. Under such circumstances the MPA in its meeting of May 27, 2022 resolved to terminate the lease dated October 12, 2010.”
So essentially, this was the decision taken and much water has flown down the Zuari since then.
Reacting to this observation, Ramrao Wagh, Co-Convenor, Goenkar Against Marina said, “The concession deed, as it is called, was done in 2010. I think it had a validity period of 30 years. I think they were supposed to start the project within 10 years. So, in between now MPT was converted to MPA. Somewhere down the line, MPA Board had first sent Kargwal a notice and then the latter claimed damages amounting to Rs 88 crore for cancelling the deed.”
“Then there were some petitions filed and I think based on all this, including a statement by CM, it was decided that the Marina project won’t be pursued further. In wake of the recent development, what I suspect is that behind all this, there was a big game plan. The MPA first settled this case and then within a period of one year, they again actually gave consent to it,” Wagh said.
“So it means that the concession agreement, which was scrapped, was restored. What happened before that this Kargwal company actually applied for a fresh application regarding Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) to MoEF&CC somewhere on February 14, 2022 and after that somewhere in July, these people gave them a consent again, saying that we will go ahead with this,” he said.
“So what it means is, these people wanted to stop that previous case and then have a new application altogether, where again these people would play a role getting the approvals. I think it is a big game plan. Another thing which they did was, when in March 2023 this case came up for hearing, the Expert Appraisal Committee said that CRZ of Goa is not notified. Then later on in September it was notified. During that time, the Environment Protection Act was also amended,” he said.
Simply told, the whole contention was that unless Goa's Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) is finalised, you cannot give an Environment Clearance (EC), because at the end of the day it's a very fragile area. This is the foundation on which the whole issue stood.
“Somewhere down the line, surprisingly this Environment Protection Act, which was very powerful earlier, has been amended almost 32 times. This in itself is a big story between these two years and using this when they when this fresh meeting took place in October, they decided that EC is not required,” Wagh said.
“Considering the scale of the project, lack of EC means there is no need to do EIA there is no need to do public hearing. This is how it has happened,” he added.
The issue here is not so much about whether the Marina should come or not. I don't think the conflict is between people who say that tourism needs to come and it’s not that the local people are saying tourism is not important for Goa. The educated persons are not saying that Marina should not come to Goa. Their opinion is don't destroy ecology and pristine marine life. Why do you need this location? That's one point.
Secondly, all along from 2010 to 2023, the entire issue and debate was centred on the protection of ecology and environment. Now what has happened is, after this 13-year battle, the basic point on which the argument is, there they are basically taking the principal argument out of the equation completely. It is like conducting a murder trial and after 13 years you end up saying the person was not killed at all.
Now, if we look at the environmental clearances history the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) refused to grant consent to Kargwal initially, citing a report given to them by the Goa State Biodiversity Board (GSBB). That has raised objections to the proposed Marina project, stating that the area is in an eco-sensitive zone. This is the beginning of the story. Let us not forget where the story started from.
Then the GSPCB asked the North Goa collector to fix a date for a public hearing. After that all the relevant NGOs and other organisations decided to object to the project, for instance GRE, Old Cross Canoe Association, the Fishing Canoe Owners Society and Desterro Fishermen’s Association - all of them said why even a public hearing should be conducted when the basic coastal plan is not made.
Reacting to this, Cyril Fernandes, Vice-president, Chicalim Villagers Action Committee, said, “One needs to understand that for any industry or project, there is something called sighting of a project. Even for a Marina or otherwise, if you plan and you identify that you want to promote an industry or a project, first you identify the site. It is important to find out if that site is compatible with your project or not.”
“In this case, we are not talking of one Marina. Chowgule’s application for another Marina is also pending. The Marina at Sancoale is for 250-odd boats. Chowgules have a larger project of 311 boats. Together if you look at it, over 500 berths are being planned in the Sancoale-Chicalim-Nauxim belt. What I have found out is, they are looking at a project where they could cater up to 500 berths,” Fernandes said.
“If you take the projected numbers and you take Chowgule’s projected number, then it goes to over 800 berths. Now, when you plan such a huge project in that bay, then the government should have been cautious and found out if it was feasible to create such a large project,” he said.
“If you see the history of the Chicalim Village Action Committee, for the last 40 years, it has been opposing every government project and the government has backtracked on different projects because of the ecological sensitivity of that area. The application from Chicalim Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) to declare the Vareg island as a biodiversity heritage site, is pending with GSBB. It is on record that they are ready to help us on this issue,” he added.
“Similarly, I would like to know the stand of the BMCs of Nauxim and Sancoale, which have also opposed such industrial activities. When we are talking of a Marina, it is not just a berthing place for boats. You need to have breakwater for every Marina because there are huge tides during monsoon that create havoc in that water body,” Fernandes said.
“The moment you create a breakwater, the whole ecology of that area will start to get destroyed and that is a natural breeding ground for so many species of fish, including the scheduled protected window pane oysters. Nauxim and Chicalim are the only breeding sites left now, after all other sites have been destroyed. We are trying to revive it. Under these circumstances, I request the Goa government to rethink on it and don't get you know carried away. It appears sometimes that Goa is for sale now to the highest bidder, that is the image that they are trying to create. They should stop here and repackage themselves,” the Vice-president of the Chicalim Villagers Action Committee, said.
Adv Suresh Palkar, Convenor, Goenkar Against Marina, has been in the forefront of the whole agitation and CM has said that the opposition is all nonsense.
That's point number one secondly, see what had happened was the Expert Appraisal Committee of the MoEF&CC had initially declined to consider the project for EC. Because they said the CZMP has been notified. Now the project proponents and the large body of people, including the CII and tourism stakeholders, writers, journalists many of them are essentially saying Goa needs high-end tourism, for which yachts are needed to come in. They are unable to understand why this opposition is continuing.
“See, we never said we don’t want tourism, because we are dependent on it. From 2010, when this project started, we have approached every CM. We first approached Digambar Kamat in 2010 and we showed him the exact area where the project was coming up. At that time, he had assured me that this project won’t go ahead. Now the incumbent CM is saying that our objections are nonsense. In fact in 2020, when we met the CM, we asked him to at least come to the site and see exactly where that project is coming up. That has not happened yet,” Adv Palkar said.
“I’m still saying that if CM comes to the location, he would know exactly where that project is coming up. You have to see the site as well as the socio-ecological impact it would have. The entire population there is dependent on fishing activities. There are no other activities there except fishing. There's a hill in the area, spread over a stretch of around 50 to 60 m. Therefore, what is required is proper impact analysis,” he said.
“We are not saying that tourism is not welcome. There is a five star hotel just a kilometre from the proposed site. All types of tourism activities are going on. We are concerned only about this portion of the area. If you see, the length of this area is hardly about half a kilometre. It is a fish breeding zone,” Adv Palkar said.
“We have the documents from the NIO and the ICAR. The documents show that there are more than 200 species of fishes. It is a fish breeding zone. Therefore we wanted at least the government officials to study these reports. We are not against any project,” the legal activist said.
There is also this whole thing of jobs and benefits. Whether it plays out correctly and honestly or not is a matter that needs attention. The issue is that the project proponent had said that 450 jobs will be created for locals, that's number one. They have also said that the fishing settlements have been identified and a proper social support package plan is being worked out for the fishing community. So, ultimately they will be compensated and well looked after.
“As far as jobs are concerned, I’ll tell you, there will be no jobs for the locals. Because, if you see their activities, there will be around 250 boats stationed at any given point of time. Plus it will also impact 13 village panchayats, from Nauxim till Utorda. What kind of jobs will they give? All the locals there are fishermen. Certainly, there aren’t any fishing related jobs there since there won’t be any fishing activity,” he said.
“The people are mostly Scheduled Tribes (ST) Communities and hardly educated. Now I'll give you one example. I told you that the Grand Hyatt hotel is just half a kilometre from the proposed Marina project site. Even I fought for employment. We were not even given a taxi counter. Then I had to virtually fight with my sarpanch and warn him against issuing occupancy certificate without getting to the taxi counter first,” he said.
According to Palkar, not even one person has been employed from the village in Grand Hyatt Resort.
Cyril Fernandes said that there is no doubt about the ecological sensitivity of that area.
“I’m not talking of just Nauxim, but the whole bay, including Sancoale and Chicalim. The whole area is a breeding ground and I want to inform you that the NIO report has been upheld by the High Court, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Supreme Court,” Fernandes said.
“The government should go back to the drawing board and review the feasibility studies that have been carried out. Don't go by what the proponents say. They are not locals. We are the locals who know what could be the outcome of any industrial activity in that area,” he said.
“Now, I want to touch on jobs. What is the shelf life of a Marina? The locals here have been living on the extraction of clams and other varieties of fish. There are oysters here. These people have been surviving on this occupation for thousands of years. They will continue to live as long as the water body remains sacrosanct. But a client will automatically shift to another Marina, whenever he wants. So, the shelf life of Marina is not even 10 to 20 years. This Marina project is just a façade, an excuse to enter through the backdoor to grab our land,” Fernandes said.
Now ultimately, as all the panellists said, the process for dialogue is always open before you take to the streets and move the court. Let's take to the table and sit around to have a proper meeting of the stakeholders to convince each other about our point of view.
But at the end of the day, what is unfortunate is dismissing opposition as nonsense. That is a narrative, which will spoil the process of dialogue. That's very important. Let us take the honourable MP’s suggestion or his promise rather, that all sides will be taken into account. I think you know this has been a 13-year-old battle. Both sides are known to each other.
But one should now sit and do what is ultimately good for Goa and its ecology, because as all of them said, there are livelihoods at stake. There's Marine ecology which is in danger of getting completely destroyed plus displacement of people could also happen.
So, all these things need to be taken into account before taking a final decision, because the issue is, Goa is bigger than Kargwal Constructions’ Marina or any other project. So, even the sum total of all these projects cannot be bigger than Goa's interests. That is very important. So that should be the bottom line, before we take any final decision on this contentious project.
