On New Year’s Day, speaking to the people at the ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the new bridge over the River Zuari connecting Agassaim with Cortalim, Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar called upon the people to adopt a New Year resolution to have a positive attitude towards development projects in the State. He perhaps said this as the year 2015 saw a number of protests leading to some projects – whether initiated by the government or by private parties – came to a halt or got delayed. From this suggestion it is obvious that as a former chief minister of Goa, he feels that the protests by the people are stalling development in the State and he wants that development be speeded up. However, those protesting will not consider their opposition as a negative attitude to development for the simple reason that all the protests Goa has seen in the past year, and earlier, have arisen due to genuine reasons and are neither politically motivated nor based on frivolous reasoning.
Goans, the defence minister needs to be reminded, have had a very positive attitude towards development. Right from the day Goa was liberated till date, this State that was earlier a Union Territory, has seen a lot of development and never have the people objected to a project on a whim. Yes, there has been opposition and there have been agitations against projects, but those opposing the projects had valid reasons to do so, and this can be borne out by the fact that the cases that went to the court led to a people’s victory. Goa’s first major battle against a corporate entity was the fight against the Nylon 6,6 project that was proposed in the State. Goa successfully stalled this project and has been able to keep environmentally disastrous and polluting industries at bay since that time. But, this cannot be called as a having a negative attitude towards development. This activism on the part of the people, their alertness to issues, arises from having a positive attitude towards protecting the environment. When the two – environment and development – are placed on the same scale, Goans have shown that they will opt to protect the environment rather than lose it for the sake of development. it may be a tricky decision to take, but Goans have shown that they value the environment they live in.
Development is not something that the people of this State will ever reject and close their doors to. But, a government proposing a development project also needs to take into consideration the costs involved, and these are not just the financial costs but the environmental and social costs. That is what the people of Goa have been referring to whenever there has been any opposition to development projects. Seeing this as a not being a positive attitude on the part of the people, only shows the negative attitude of the political class towards the concerns of the people.
The New Year resolution concerning development, if any, should be taken by the politicians of this State, especially those belonging to the political parties that are a part of this coalition government and have been pushing forward projects against the will of the people. The resolution should have two parts – to adhere to the existing rules and regulations and to listen to the voice of the people. If our politicians are able to do that, then they will find that it is not the people who have a negative attitude towards development, but that it is the political class that has been having a negative attitude all these years. Parrikar, especially, will realise that having a positive attitude towards development means weighing the costs against the gains and opting for that what gives better returns over the costs.
