All roads in Goa seem to lead to the highway of construction, concretisation, rampant urbanisation and the resultant destruction of Goa's pristine and irreplaceable environment. The entire highway cutting across Goa has reduced its green cover to a large extent. The current highway work at Porvorim right up to Guirim has mowed down old heritage trees and our future of carbon sequestration, oxygen power houses and anti-landslide sentinels. The fields of Taleigao are continuously being assaulted and ravaged with dumping of debris, land filling and conversion to commercial zones with gated colonies and more hotels slated to rise above our food security and flood management systems, decimating them all with sewage, pollution and increased heat island effect.
The hills of Bambolim and the ground water aquifers are being silently raped and pumped out for more luxury villas and proposed/under construction Casino hotels. The large open pits, the size of football grounds have been dug out nearly 3 floors deep for basements that are flooding with fresh water from the springs below and the developers are clandestinely pumping out this perennial source of fresh water into the nearest Nalla that drains out into the Zuari bay. The Oxel spring and many others are at a risk of being polluted and run dry because of large developments coming up in its vicinity of more luxury villas with too many swimming pools!
The turtle nesting sites of Morjim and Agonda are also not left alone with numerous business establishments literally operating right over these eco-sensitive areas. And this is not a comprehensive list because the real estate giants from Delhi NCR like Lodha, Bhutani, DLF, Sabh Infra, Axon, Veera Group, Axis Ecorp, are all on an acquisition spree announcing or in the process of announcing second homes in Goa!
Now all tourists are coming back to purchase land in Goa to live like tourists in villas with swimming pools. But can Goa survive this?
Yes, Goa is the richest state. It is the most luxurious state too. Its richness and luxury comes from its forests, resources like fresh water, abundance biodiversity including marine life and peace loving people. But isn’t it sad that instead of hoardings promoting this natural beauty all that we see today in advertisements right from the airport or border entry points are casinos and real estate promotions for luxury homes that are being built with the most substandard quality cleverly hidden with heavy makeup of synthetic paint and cosmetic drama. And most buyers are getting fooled by this short term glitter oblivious to the open wounds of hill cutting, bleeding forest trees sliced mercilessly, black filth oozing out into our rivers and water bodies. What are the new citizens going to eat, breathe and survive on if the very essence of Goa is damaged?
The rising heat is not the only problem Goa is currently facing. There is no drinking water in this high rainfall state. Wells are going dry. Even with tube wells, the desertification of Goa is becoming imminent. We are soon to witness a severe water crisis. What will the new Goans with luxury villas and swimming pools do to sustain their metropolitan lifestyles here in Goa? Where will the water for all the swimming pools come from?
It is ironic that even after the Supreme Court had to intervene and order for safeguarding Goa's environment and biodiversity, it has fallen on deaf ears and the Government of Goa is blatantly violating all laws and human rights.
Goa is getting plundered. Where are the custodians, its guardians and lawmakers to protect and conserve this paradise for its future generations? Is the Chief Minister of Goa listening, seeing, feeling? Is the TCP Minister listening, seeing, feeling? What about the other departments and ministers and local representatives? What has happened to them that they are killing their own mother land and are not feeling any pain? Can power and greed for money make one so blind that you begin to not care for your own and are willing to commit crimes on innocent people and the environment that nurtures you? Isn’t the role of the Development body to plan for the future and the wellbeing of its people and environment? Isn’t the natural cover, trees, rivers, hills, fields all our critical infrastructure to help us live well and survive? Therefore, isn't the primary role of the TCP, PDA to plan for the conservation of this natural infrastructure for the future generations of the State? Or is it to only pass plans by taking bribes, aid land use change and conversions for concretization and kill our motherland? Village Panchayats are demanding money for approving construction licences. They are violating laws by permitting massive developments with no public participation or accountability. At the recent silent protest at the Panjim Church to demand for the ouster of the TCP Minister for permitting large scale conversions of private forest lands and others to building developments both residential and commercial, it was shocking to see yet again the misuse of power where the police obstructed the silent protesters from walking up to the CM’s office at Altinho to submit the appeal letter.
Is it too much to ask Mr Chief Minister and TCP Minister to safeguard Goa’s rich natural assets for all children including yours? Isn’t that the least you can do to ensure that your children and all children have a future full of clean air, lush trees and forests with fruit and medicines, intact hills full of ground water and khazans full of fish, curry and rice? Goa is dying. Our mother is dying. Aren’t we going to save her?
(Tallulah D’Silva is an
Architect and silver
awardee of the Golden Door Award 2020 for truth and integrity.)