Justice & the ‘aam admi’
It is strange justice indeed that houses of fisherfolk have been knocked down in coastal villages like Velsao for so-called ‘violation’ of CRZ, when much larger commercial structures built at the seashore on the pretext of ‘re-building’ original fishermen’s ‘khopies’ continue to stand, operate and earn their owners large sums of money. For some fisherfolk in coastal villages, the new draft Coastal Zone Regulation (CRZ) notification 2011, which allows for structures of traditional coastal dwellers to be protected, has come too late. Following the High Court order directing that all structures built post-19 February 1991 be demolished, those without the economic means to mount a strong legal challenge seem to have got the short end of the stick.
The ‘aam admi’ is rarely very well organised. When it comes to paperwork, (s)he is usually found to be sorely lacking. Is that why 200 structures in Velsao have been razed even as the debate over protecting the houses of traditional fisherfolk went on over the past year and more?
The same yardstick, it seems, does not apply to all structures. This is evident in that there are many that have survived, and very few of those owned by wealthy people or big companies have come down. Why? Only because those who are economically well off can hire expert lawyers to move courts and obtain stay orders? But what of those who cannot afford to pay a lawyer thousands of rupees for each hearing in cases that could go on for years, if not decades?
India is supposed to be a democracy where all citizens have equality of opportunity. But, in a situation where so much is dependent on the depth of one’s pockets, does this so-called equality really exist? The tragedy is that one of the places that this deep divide is felt most acutely is in the courts of law; the very temples of justice that have been created to uphold the rights of citizens and their equality. To fight a case in a High Court costs not less than a lakh of rupees. To do the same in the Supreme Court costs many times more. How many can afford this? Besides, the income limits set for free legal aid are so absurdly low that they effectively exclude most Goans.
So is it any surprise that while fishermen’s houses have fallen prey to the government’s bulldozer, huge projects by large companies have not only survived, but have been able to expand? It used to be said in colonial times that climbing the steps of the courts was recommended only for the wealthy. What is really sad is that 63 years of independence for India and 49 years of liberation for Goa have not really made much difference at all. But what is really surprising is that the rulers who run the legislature, the executive and the judiciary – the so-called three pillars of democracy – have not made much of an effort to change this situation. Are they really unaware of the gross injustice that it represents?
Temple thieves
No sooner did Goa’s temple trustees get together to form a federation to resist the ongoing spate of burglaries, when temple thieves struck once again, this time at Fatorda, where they burgled the Nag Temple. They robbed Rs15,000 from the donation box but, fortunately, could not lay their hands on gold and silver items.
It is high time the government initiates strong measures to stop these burglaries. Surely the Goa Police cannot continue to be clueless about temple thieves for so many months and years. It is time they started showing results.
