Old Goa may be bereft of pilgrims on the feast day of St Francis Xavier, as the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic has ensured that the masses, including the feast mass, be celebrated with limited congregation and beamed live on television channels and streamed live on the internet. That is exactly what is occuring this December 3, and the village that would otherwise be bubbling with a festive air, will this day also be relieved that the proposal to include the village panchayat under the Greater Panaji Planning and Development Area (GPPDA) stands dropped, or else the undercurrents of a possible change in zoning that could have major repercussions on the World Heritage Site would have been simmering in the area. The government was quick to reverse the decision taken by the Town and Country Planning Board to bring this area, around the UNESCO designated World Heritage Site, under the planning area.
While, the government needs to be commended for the quick reversal of the unwise decision, this further emphasises how the government and its various bodies have been almost constantly taking decisions without a proper understanding of the repercussions of these. Take this proposal of extending the planning area of the Greater Panaji Planning and Development Authority to Old Goa. It may have sounded rather innocuous to the layman, but it threatened the very existence of the World Heritage Site. The village panchayat under the Regional Plan would restrict development to a floor area ratio (FAR) of 60 to 80, but under a PDA this could increase up to 200, allowing taller buildings, which in turn could dwarf the monuments of World Heritage significance in the village and change the very nature of he village. Hadn’t this been considered when the proposal was pushed through?
Simultaneously, the government has come under fire from the opposition for its plan to spend Rs 100 crore on year-long celebrations across India of the 60 years of Goa’s Liberation from colonial rule. It is an anniversary that is worth celebrating, but should a government that is borrowing money to meet its outgoings spend Rs 100 crore on such celebrations? Can’t the same money, that the State has sought as a grant from the Centre, be utilised to revive the economy that has taken a hit due to the pandemic? The entire opposition has raised the red flag on the celebrations and the government has already been forced to postpone the first meeting of the organising committee of this celebrations as the opposition leaders refused to attend it. But will postponing the meeting yield results? The opposition leaders appear to be in no mood to relent and so are unlikely to attend the postponed meeting. Does the government still go ahead with the celebrations?
The past months have seen the reversal of many decisions, especially in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the cases are now lower and so the situation more manageable, the pandemic has not yet ended. Goa has imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in the State for six months. This section bars the gathering of more than four people in public places. How, in the face of such restrictions, does the government expect to be able to have celebrations across the country for its 60 years of Liberation? The government requires to be more focussed on the issues and take decisions by weighing the pros and cons. In the current circumstances, it is not advisable to spend an amount like Rs 100 crore on celebrations, when the money can be put to better use. The government has to re-look at this celebration plan and take a more pragmatic decision, with reduced expenditure and less ostentation.