The Opposition, public spirited citizens and activists have been tearing their hair and shouting from rooftops, to arrest the drift of Goa. Now the Legislators and ex Legislators have raised the Red Flag on major issues that have to be tackled on an emergency basis, by the government. The question is will Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who reached late for the function, due to other engagements, tackle these issues, as promised by him at the Legislators Day function?
Legislators and former legislators flagged four major issues to save Goa: first, to stop the reckless sale of land; second to stop the moral degradation of Goa as exemplified by the Casinos and parties; third, save the Madhei river (from being diverted), save the environment and wildlife and fourth, to stem the rot of corruption that is eating into the entrails of Goa.
Legislators across the board emphasized the need to save Goa’s land by stopping projecting Goa as small, beautiful and golden Goa. A former MP called for putting the laws pertaining to communidade, tenanted and agricultural land sale into the IX Schedule of the Constitution so that they cannot be sold. He also called for protection of land of Goans who are abroad and who have brought fame and revenue to our country. A former Union Minister called for implementing the Report of the Law Commission, which will not allow for selling of agricultural and tenanted land. One legislator appealed to the villagers not to sell village lands to outsiders such that the entire demography will be changed. One former chief justice of the High Court warned that our Goenkarponn, language and culture will be destroyed if we make hundreds of plots and sell them, while questioning the carrying capacity of our villages.
“Will yesterday’s Goa remain for our future generations? Land in remote villages are being sold for Rs 10,000 per sqm. Everyone has an eye on Goan lands. Will Goa survive? We are facing tremendous shortages of water and other resources,” a tribal leader and former MLA rued.
Another legislator said that in certain parts of Goa, only Hindi can be heard due to the changing demography. Non Goans are taking over Goa, he said. Otherwise as per my profession, I am reasonable, but we are losing our minds as paddy fields are being converted and sold, he said.
The second issue flagged by legislators was the pervading of casinos. Leader of the Opposition said that Goa has been projected as a sinful place with the rampant casinos, which he alleged are parading as proprietors of the Mandovi River. Gambling has been projected as the economic lifeline of Goa. People are getting the impression that this is our culture.
A shocked former Union Minister brought a photo of a party poster put up at Chopdem which read “Goa Fornication”. What has Goa come to? he questioned. He also narrated how residents of Campal are afraid to open their windows after 11 pm, since cars coming from casinos park in Campal bylanes and all sorts of illicit activities go on there.
The third major issue which was red flagged was the drift over Mhadei river water. Most of the legislators felt that enough was not being done. The blame game has to stop and Mhadei should be declared as a tiger reserve and the government should wake up from its slumber. The retired judge and former MLA said that 59 projects have been given the go-ahead for Goa, and if not utilised, they would be redistributed among the three states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa. Goa has not done site studies on the environment, the ingress of saline water in our rivers and not estimated the effect of global warming on river Mhadei, he added.
Finally a former woman MLA expressed shock over the extent of corruption prevalent in government departments. She narrated how when questioned about corruption in the police department, her student told her that she had paid Rs 25 lakh to get a job in the police department. Is the Cash for jobs a reality, she asked.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has called on the legislators and former legislators to keep their suggestions and valuable advice coming. He said his government would take 100% cognizance of Mhadei and Goa Clean and Green suggestions, and would work on them and send the suggestions to the departments. But Sawant did not comment on the reckless sale of Goa, the casinos and corruption. We hope that the Chief Minister has heard the voices of the sitting and former legislators loud and clear and will act on these issues to save Goa, on a war footing.