That is the reason, why on the second anniversary of Parrikar’s speech in the assembly on July 19, 2012, where a commitment was made to have a fresh Regional Plan taking the interest of the common people, we decided to raise a series of red flags, to remind the people Goa who have clearly moved on without thinking of their future, that every commitment towards giving the people of Goa a chance to participate in making plans for their villages has been belied. The government has not been accountable or even answerable. The Regional Plan 2021 for all practical purposes was kept in a coma with no possibility of resurrecting the patient back into life again. It is a model that had failed, with clear deviations from the draft Regional Plan 2021 drafted by honest policy experts like Edgar Ribeiro. The final Regional Plan is an anti-thesis of the spirit of the Draft RP 2021.
Therefore, when in the run up to the assembly elections of 2012, the Parrikar led BJP stated in its manifesto and other campaign documents that the Regional Plan would be “scrapped”; it was greeted with joy and hope in tintos and tavernas that reverberated right into the polling booths delivering an unprecedented mandate for the BJP. The promise of a new Regional Plan made the Parrikar 2012 a reality. The corruption of the Congress regime would have given the BJP about 15 seats but it was the promise of a new grass roots plan, honest, transparent and people centric that took the BJP tally to 21 and above. If Mr Parrikar is sitting with a brute majority mandate today, it is because the people of Goa believed in his promise of a new Regional Plan, a promise that now stands shattered.
In the Governors address in the first session of the assembly on March 20, 2012, Governor Katteekal Sankarnarayanan’s words were “My Government will de-notify the Regional Plan 2021 and formulate one in due consultation with all stake holders”
As the issue lingered, permissions for constructions were continued to be given, based on the 2021 plan on hold as well as the earlier plan of 2001 (since the plan after that 2011 was scrapped), making the whole concept of planning completely farcical. Over a year later, on June 15, 2013 the Chief Minister, in a sudden burst of what appeared to be pro-active action, made a series of remarks and announcements that were confusing but appeared to be going in the direction of ensuring peoples participation. They included announcing guidelines for the new Regional Plan and keeping the draft for suggestions for 60 days at the village panchayats. Secondly, the Chief Minister said that whatever development model was chosen by the village panchayat would be accepted and thirdly he said that the panchayat plan, drawn up and “voted” for by voters, in a plebiscite type of activity, would be super imposed on the Regional Plan. The CM, though, added a rider that these were ideas and not policy and that he was “trying to make it legal”.
What is amazing is that post such statements, there was complete silence on these issues. While obviously there was no movement, there was no going back to the people either to inform them of any progress if any, or the reasons for the lack of any progress.
Every time he was asked about these things by journalists, his standard reply was that he wanted to deal with the mining crisis first. About two months ago, he told Herald “It is very complicated. Touching it would be like touching a bee hive.”
What really was the Chief Minister trying to say? And what about the commitments and promises made by no less than the Governor and he himself on the floor of the house. This inaction is contempt of the house and above all, contempt of the people. Goa’s development land use plan can’t be sacrificed at the altar of a Chief Minister who doesn’t want to touch this hot potato whose temperature is only rising daily with the anger of the people of Goa.
