TALLULAH D’SILVA
This one line stood out from the Peo ple’s Charter, a 10 point document compiled at the recently held call to action meeting, ‘Enough is Enough, Ani Sosum Nezo’, called on by the ex-Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, Ferdino Rebel lo. Each of the speakers on the dais spoke from their perspective and area of work about conservation of Goa and protecting it against any further de struction. There were peo ple from all walks of life. Youth, activists, senior cit izens, villagers, artists, so cial workers. But architects were missing! Hill cutting has been go ing on unabated in the state of Goa. Look at all our hill slopes and plateaus- Reis Magos, Kadamba, San coale, Bambolim, etc. These look horrific with massive tree cutting, clearing of all vegetation and levelling of slopes to make way for concrete walls and chock a-block construction of lux ury villas and gated com plexes. What is the problem with this? Our hills are our water tanks. They store rain water and feed into aq uifers that in turn sustain ground water and fresh water springs. Our hills and plateaus also have large lakes as reservoirs like the Bondvoll Lake, Toyaar Lake, etc that further re plenish ground water, feed into agrarian lands and support livelihoods of our villages. In the last few years, we have seen drastic amend ments to the laws that have earlier protected land. 16A, 17-2 and 39A have been the most destructive changes that have impacted protect ed Eco Sensitive land as per Regional Plan 2021. With these amendments, lakhs of square metres of land has been sold, converted with the sole purpose of more development of concrete villas, apartments and hos pitality projects under the guise of eco-tourism. Why should these eco sensitive areas be undeveloped? These areas in Goa are largely forested lands. They have endemic species of trees, medicinal plants and fauna. They give us fresh air, our oxygen for survival. These are our lungs. They give us relief from ailments, our forest pharmacy. We must simply retain them and protect them. Our villages are unique, rich with culture, architec ture and pristine environ ment replete with khazans, agriculture, kulaghars (or chards/ traditional per maculture zones). Some villages still retain the practice of mand where the community and its elders meet to plan, guide, resolve problems justly and also celebrate its ethos. Our vil lages also have a carrying capacity like cities. Today, there is so much sale of land and new people coming to reside in our villages that it is crossing this carrying ca pacity causing a change in its structure, character and spirit. Isn’t ‘town planning’ the tools to address land use and carrying capacity? What is happening to our coast, river banks and wetlands? Goa’s beaches are special. Sand dunes covered with ipomea and Ravana’s moustache, sway ing casuarina trees and coconut palms lining the sea side, small hamlets of fishing communities are the identity of our coast. But look at what has hap pened to Baga, Calangute and Arpora. In fact, the gov ernment has a new propos al on the anvil to increase the FAR and reduce the 200 and 500 metres from the High Tide Line limit for building construction that will pave the way for more hotels and commercial es tablishments. Even our ar eas around our low lying fields, khazans, rivers, wet lands and lakes have not been spared. Besides the rampant land filling, buff er zones are being relaxed or scrapped and more and more concrete develop ment, overnight construc tions are being carried out causing irreversible envi ronmental damage. The People’s Charter states that false reports have been made and sub mitted by architects with regard to all the above developments causing de struction of Goa and there fore they must be subject to criminal or disciplinary action! The Architect’s Act of 1972 that has seen amend ments over the years, lays emphasis in the code of eth ics and professional con duct that architects must contribute to the quality of environment and future welfare of society. It further states that registered ar chitects are responsible for designing with the environ ment, energy efficiency and sustainable site/ land plan ning. It further mandates architects to be responsible for resource conservation and reducing environmen tal impact in each project! Are we as architects doing this? With large-scale (also illegal) sand mining, stone quarrying, iron ore mining, tree cutting, are we mindful or even concerned of the devastation to our land and depletion of resources for future generations? What about planning and land use? Are we as architects sensitive to planning with the ecology of the land- the slope, natural drainage, different endemic trees, medicinal plants, sources of water, etc.? Survey plans, drawings alone do not con vey what richness a plot of land has. As architects, we must get to know each piece of land, understand its characteristic, unique ness and then plan, design and integrate these assets, not decimate them. All architects besides being mandated by the Act are also registered with the Council of Architecture and many local Chapters of Ar chitects bodies and forums like the Institute of Archi tects (Goa Chapter), Young Architects Festival, WICCI Goa ( Women Architects), etc. Why then do we have no Architects speaking up for Goa- its hills, coastal zones, villages, cities, towns and its environment? I’m sure each and every architect in Goa and from Goa has a heart that is lis tening to the cry of our motherland. And I’m sure each has played in her lap as a baby, walked her shores, climbed her hills and trekked in her forests. It is time now, my friend, to care for her, stand up, pro tect her and lay down our lives for her! (Tallulah D’Silva is an Architect and silver awardee of the Golden Door Award 2020 for truth and integrity.)
