Goa wants error free ecology reports
It’s a sighting even rarer than a perfect constellation when noted environmentalists, the government and the industry have different reasons to oppose a report meant to preserve ecology and environment.
But go beyond the rhetoric and impulsive government bashing by a lobby that opposes this opposition, because of programmed impulses, to find a muddle of complexities and contradictions in the K Kasturingan report on the Western Ghats. And by the way industry isn’t saying this, because the industry has been permanently silenced. Environmentalists are saying this albeit for different reasons, One section believes that this report shortens the much larger embrace and protective ring of the Gadgil report, which covered the entire Western Ghats. While the jury is out on this, the much more agreeable and plausible opposition stems from the fact that the report is ridden with errors. No argument or lobbying can work in the face of incorrect facts and those opposing the opposition to the Kasturiangan report don’t necessarily let facts come in the way of rhetoric.
If the genesis of the report is to identify specific areas and villages that come under the eco sensitive zone, isn’t it common sense logic to expect that these villages should exist? As Herald found out during the course of its research, 14 non-existent- in other words fictitious- villages are marked in the eco sensitive zone, eight in Sattari and six in Sanguem.
It doesn’t stop here. Nine villages are shown as a part of Sanguem, which are actually in Darbandora. Now Darbandora was carved out of Sanguem in April 2012 a full year before the Kasturirangan report was submitted. The new taluka is not even included in the eco sensitive talukas.
The absolute non application of mind and facts is on display wherein Valpoi has been categorized as an eco- sensitive village and Dharbandora too, as a “part of Sanguem” if you please.
Even if we agree that the intentions of the renowned former ISRO Chief were noble, and not for once can that be doubted, the road to fructifying these intentions is paved with incorrect facts.
At the grassroots, this has led to chaos which has peaked because of the governments’ usual indifference towards communicating with the grassroots, especially on a decision which is going to impact their lives and livelihoods. Herald found people in most talukas baffled and confused with local representatives equally at sea about the ramifications of the Kasturirangan and its precursor, the Gadgil report. The big fear among people is that they will not have access to forest resources and produce once this report gets actioned.
Without wasting any more time, and depending on this governments’ further course of action on these reports, a task force should be formed to engage with the people, get feedback from villages and panchayats and tabulate all responses to be discussed by the government at various levels. This was the mantra of both Gadgil and Kasturirangan, a mantra which has been severely flouted.
Above all it’s important that fiction should be removed from fact and an explanation given on the basis on which villages were identified and marked. The least that the people of Goa expect is transparency and honesty.
