According to Naik, the satellite port will turn out to be another white elephant which will end up in displacing locals and bring no benefit to the State. The proposed satellite port of the MPT will handle bauxite, iron ore and possibly coal. MPT, whose jurisdiction extends up to Betul, already has 75 acres of land in the area, and requires more than double that to create the new port.
The proposal from the Centre for more land at Betul has been made to the Chief Minister and was announced in Goa last week by Union Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. It comes close after the villagers of the same area were up in arms against the government handing over land to the Defence ministry in Naqueri-Betul for the DefExpo that was held in Goa in March. After the sustained campaign that the people of the area put up against the DefExpo, it is not going to be easy for the State to accede to the request of the Centre for up to 200 acres of land, which will be given to MPT permanently. The MPT chairman’s explanation that the port will be non-polluting, safe and would lead to a growth in the economic activity in the region and State, is unlikely to cut any ice with the people.
The Chief Minister is well aware of all this and has already described the issue as ‘very sensitive’ and spoken of the need to seek public opinion on the matter. He couldn’t have been more right on the matter and more cautious in his approach. The opposition to the move has already started with an NGO terming it as conspiracy to grab precious stretches of prime land in Goa and convert the State into a second class outpost of heavy and mining industries.
Land, primarily because of its scarcity, has been a dear and sensitive issue in Goa. There is a group fighting for Special Status for the State which is to save the land. The current government even voted in favour of a resolution in the Legislative Assembly on Special Status and former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had led an all party delegation to New Delhi to meet then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with the petition for Special Status. Against this background and the rumblings of opposition to the Betul move, this government is not going to find it easy to accede to the Centre’s request. It failed to convince the people on the ‘temporary’ DefExpo, as agitations continued throughout the expo, it is unlikely to be able to convince the people on the port.
Marinas in the Zuari Bay, a satellite port in Betul, a second international airport at Mopa; has the government even considered carrying a capacity study of the land before beginning to look at further ‘development’? The State has begun the process for a second airport, now is there going to be a second port?
The State needs to invite industry and improve its infrastructure. While doing so it has to take into consideration the employment benefits and what industry will suit the State best. Just a few days ago the Chief Minister said that Goa will beat the Southern States in the IT industry a few years from now. If the government is so confident of being able to do so it should focus its energies on the knowledge and IT industry. That is one sector that few people in Goa would possibly object to as it is non-polluting, does not gobble up land and would generate employment.
