It is difficult to recollect a project or a major Government decision in Goa where locals, social workers or NGOs did not knock on the doors of the court, sans a few exceptions. Why is this happening? Are people not confident enough anymore that the government they elected to power will resolve their issues? In fact, Goa has a long history of people disagreeing with the government’s decisions, be it related to mining, illegal tree felling, noise pollution, illegal constructions, amendments to TCP Act, water scarcity, road widening and so on. Ponjekars have also rushed to the court against the Central government’s flagship Smart City Project as they are suffering with the dust pollution caused by the delayed development works under the scheme. If the public feels the need to approach the court for such small issues then it proves that there has been a lack of communication between the government and its people, as well as the public’s lack of trust in the system.
There is no truth whatsoever in the government’s claims that the people go to the court just because they are jobless. It’s only because the social workers and alert locals are seeking justice in the court that the general public is at peace to some extent, otherwise it would have been a complete disaster. At a public programme held two years ago, the Chief Minister had appealed to the people to discuss the issues with the government before approaching courts as it breaks the momentum of the development. The CM’s statement is welcoming and the development process must be taken ahead with participation from the public. However, should the government not set a precedent on its own? But, ironically, the government first drafts the policies without taking public issues into consideration and later on accuses people of being anti-development when they oppose the projects. Secondly, it is also true that the well-being of masses should not be neglected for the betterment of only a few. Therefore, the government does not bother when only a few people oppose as sometimes the protests are politically motivated. However, the elected government must take the responsibility while implementing multi-crore projects, such as the Smart City project, which directly impacts the common man. And when the government refuses to be accountable, alert locals are left with no other option than to seek justice in the court.
The petitioners have not held only the State government responsible for the menace caused by Smart City works, but have also included Imagine Panaji, Corporation of the City of Panaji, GSPCB, Traffic Police and the North Goa Collector. It would be important to see what court observes and remarks on the counterparties involved. Unfortunately, the remarks will probably not affect the government, given its abysmal history of not respecting the court orders. If the government had to implement the court’s orders, then the state government would have notified the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve long ago as instructed.
Fortunately, people still have faith in the judiciary of the country due to some sensible verdicts delivered by the Supreme Court in recent times, whether it is regarding Electoral Bonds, pulling up the Tamil Nadu governor for not administering the oath to a minister or instructing Ramdev Baba to appear urgently before the court for false advertising of his products. This has helped in reinforcing people’s belief that there is at least one system capable of reminding the government of its duties as a majority government does tend to act dictatorial due to political arrogance.
