For many years, Tiracol was just a nondescript, agrarian village at the northernmost tip of Goa, known only for its run-down fort. Being the only Goa-held territory North of the River Tiracol—people had to cross a ferry, tides permitting – not a lot of people made the trek to Tiracol, not from the Goan side anyway. All that is now history.
Now, a multi-crore investment is being executed by M/s Leading Hotels Ltd for a golf course,There are three cases which are currently holding the project back – one against the bridge and two against the golf course project.
The case against the bridge, filed by the Goa Foundation before the National Green Tribunal at Pune, challenges the permissions given by the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to construct the bridge. The petitions against the golf course project argue that part of the land on which the golf course is being constructed is forest land and that trees are being felled without the necessary clearances; and more importantly, that the land which the Leading Hotels has bought is tenanted agricultural land and could not have been legally sold.
Under the Goa Land Tenancy Act, tenants cultivating land would become the deemed owners of the land, but they cannot further sell the land or convert it for non-agricultural purposes.
If the sale is ruled illegal, it puts the entire project in jeopardy.
Legal issues aside, the project faces opposition from civil society on various grounds ranging from “high-handedness”, contempt for law displayed by the promoters, and a whole range of concerns such as Goa obtaining a water guzzling golf course, when its own residents face shortages of water.
Does Goa need a golf course? The opinion is divided with some saying that it will help bring in high-end tourists to the State. Is Goa’s would-be new golf course bending existing laws? That’s a question for lawmakers and civil society.
