As Goa takes a day off to celebrate the feast of St Francis Xavier, and reflects on the theme for this year’s novena and feast and also the Saint’s life and teachings, it would be fitting to pause for a moment and look at the village in general and what it requires. Old Goa will be teeming with people on December 4, and throughout the day lakhs of people of all faiths will have set foot in the village, but few will probably have the time to reflect on the material heritage of the time when the Jesuit priest walked in Goa, and that still exists in the village today, almost five centuries after his time.
Almost on the eve of the feast, the Old Goa Action Committee demanded a heritage master plan to save the historic and heritage structures in the village, a plan that will look at structures beyond the seven World Heritage Monuments and conserve them all. It is pertinent to look at one of the suggestions of the committee that pointed out that international monitoring bodies under UNESCO have indicated that the entire site be covered under the world heritage designation rather than individual monuments which is currently the case. This is a suggestion that has to be taken into consideration, as what exists in Old Goa is unique and every effort has to be made to preserve it for the future.
To make this possible, the Old Goa Action Committee has demanded that 14 ASI protected monuments, eight State protected monuments, 18 unprotected and 15 underground heritage sites, be demarcated. There is also the demand that areas be demarcated as protected and regulated around the sites so as to ensure further protection and also to maintain the aesthetics of the area. The village of Old Goa abounds with heritage structures and these demands of the group of villagers have to be taken seriously. We have the recent example of how during some road widening an old wall and gate had been demolished, an action that was then taken up by the Goa Heritage Action Group. Given this, the need for a heritage action plan is very important.
The Old Goa Action Committee also wants that the master plan for the heritage areas be included in the Regional Plan 2021, a demand that is very relevant, especially since a neighbouring area, the Kadamba Plateau, will soon come under the proposed Greater Panjim Planning and Development Authority. It is imperative that the Greater Panjim Planning and Development Authority takes into account the existing heritage sites whenever it begins its planning process, as it will have in its jurisdiction some important heritage site, which includes the crumbling wall of the once fortified city of Goa. The entire area, even beyond the village of Old Goa, has heritage sites and these cannot be lost to development and construction.
The seven Old Goa Churches, that are World Heritage structures, have been so designated because of their unique architectural and design elements that incorporate European and Indian styles. That does not, however, lessen the heritage values of the other churches in the area, or the historic importance of other structures, that may not be churches but have stood the test of time and have their own heritage value. A number of churches of that period are unique for the same reasons, and some that were built in the latter period, even evolved their own style, leading to what is often called the India Baroque. Their importance cannot be stressed enough and so the Old Goa Action Committee needs to be heard, and their demands met. This feast day would be the right time to make a commitment to save Old Goa from rampant development, and not allow heritage to be sacrificed for the sake of development.
