Land speculation drives Mopa?
In the corporate world, ‘insider trading’ is a crime. If an individual with potential access to information about a company that is not public, makes a profit from trading in that company‘s shares on the basis of that privileged information, it is considered a breach of a fiduciary relationship of trust and confidence. If caught, those engaged in insider trading have to pay stiff fines or can even go to jail.
But what happens when politicians take advantage of ‘insider’ information to make a profit? This could happen in the stock market, where by virtue of his or her position, the politician knows about policy decisions that are yet to be made public, and makes a profit from some ‘timely’ trading. But, more often, it takes the shape of profiteering in property.
Politicians are in a privileged position. They get to know about government decisions when the files are still doing the rounds of the Secretariat, and long before these decisions become public. Therefore, they are in a unique position to sell or purchase land on the basis of this information. Isn’t this the same as insider trading?
Ministers take an oath of secrecy along with the oath of office. They solemnly affirm that any matter that comes to their knowledge in the course of their duties will not be disclosed. But one does not have to be a minister to get access to privileged information. MLAs are usually sounded out in advance about projects in their constituencies. Many are members of legislative or consultative committees, where more such knowledge comes their way. They share this information with their party colleagues. Therefore politicians, whether in power or out, whether in the assembly or not, have access to a great deal of privileged information that they can potentially profit from.
This is the substance of the allegations the members of the ‘Mopa Vimantall Pidit Xetkari Samiti’ have made against politicians, from Pernem and elsewhere. The Samiti comprises farmers of Mopa, Chandel, Kasarvorem, Varkhand and Uguem, villages whose land is being acquired for the proposed Mopa airport. They say that politicians are keen on the project mainly because many have acquired land at cheap rates near Mopa, and are hoping to reap a windfall when the airport starts to come up and land values in the area shoot skywards.
They stoutly oppose the proposed airport at Mopa, saying it will cause ecological devastation in the area and deprive villagers of their only means of livelihood, farming. Samiti members contend that more than 85 per cent of the people of the area depend solely on agriculture.
Further, Samiti members pooh-pooh the government’s promise that the proposed airport will create employment. The airport, they say, will be built on a BOOT basis by a private company, that will then operate it. How then, they ask, can the state government – which will not be in the picture – offer employment to locals? They say that as with all big projects in Goa, locals will get only the menial jobs, while the better-paying posts will go to outsiders with better qualifications.
But, most important, they have accused politicians – from Pernem and elsewhere, from the ruling party and the opposition – of buying up large numbers of plots of land at cheap rates in the area, so that they can sell them for much more when the airport starts to come up. This is no empty allegation. The Samiti is armed with all the details of these land purchases, which its members have obtained under RTI from the Pernem Sub Registrar’s office.
Isn’t buying land on the basis of privileged information more or less the same as insider trading? Since it is a breach of fiduciary responsibility, shouldn’t it be punished the same way? But can we expect our government to act against MLAs and their close relatives?
