The government over the last few months is in a constant friction with the society and was pushed back on more than one occasion as the government announced withdrawal of the proposed amendments to the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act and scrapping Section 16B of the Act which was introduced in 2018 along with all the cases related to the section.
Nevertheless, the Goa government’s determination to be at the forefront of land conversion and passing on the fruits of such amendments has not been demoralised and yet another amendment to the Goa Land Revenue Rules has been proposed. The proposal if implemented will grant blanket authority to the District Collectors to clear land conversion files after 20 days of application if no objection is raised by any of the departments concerned.
While on one hand the government is opposed to 99 villages being included in the list of ecologically sensitive areas of the Western Ghats, on the other hand it has decided not to engage with the protesting farmers in Sanguem, who are opposing the proposed premium institute, IIT, in their locality. The government, as it seems, has decided to excavate the State for urbanisation.
In Mopa, the land owners who lost their land to the upcoming airport are yet to be compensated and they feel betrayed as the prices of neighbouring landscapes have multiplied at least 100 times, if not more, the price at which the land was purchased from these farmers for the airport.
At the centre of all the protests and agitations is the politics of land.
We have crossed more than two decades of the 21st century, yet the State has struggled to produce a document on the roadmap of its land use.
To surmise yourself as the custodian of the entire land of the State and then allow land sharks to take over large tracts of land, will only be akin to running a banana republic. Goa’s land along with its flora and fauna is the only asset that can provide livelihood to its people for posterity.
The Government has to get its act together and on priority draw the regional plan and master plan, but until then suspend any further development and urbanisation works by the government or any other corporate lobby that intends to fund the political party running the government of the day.
From Polem to Patradevi, the flora and fauna needs to be accounted for and young researchers of the Goa University be included in the task of detailing the environmental indices that still remain of Goa, which has been sold out if not to outsiders already, at least to those who think of making hay when the sun shines.
Protect the natural gifts and engage with indigenous societies across the lands of Goa in providing them with opportunity to rejoice in the possibilities of how they can contribute to the economy and the existence of the idea of an eco-State. Without engaging in a dialogue and reaching out to the indigenous population, the government will isolate a large section of the society which remains vulnerable and needs to be attended to.
Understanding the restlessness of Lolienkars to remain an eco-sensitive area is the way forward in approaching the citizens of the State as participants and not mere recipients of the dictates of the government.
Goa needs to revisit its priorities on the land use and the proposed plans for urbanisation of the State and delve well into the future beyond the 22nd century.
