Can a government that is actively forging ahead with the construction of a Greenfield international airport to meet the needs of projected passenger traffic decades from now, also pursue with the same seriousness special status for the state hoping to save the land for its inhabitants? That’s a question that arises from the manner in which the Goa government is juggling the two issues, keeping both afloat in the air, mesmerizing two different constituencies of people with its adept dexterity in not allowing either issue to fall to the ground.
In conflicting actions last month, the BJP-led government in Goa, first floated an international request for qualification (RFQ) for the Mopa airport, and some days later announced the constitution of a committee to help the government decide on its arguments for special status for the State. In effect, this signifies that the State government is keen on pursuing both – Mopa airport and special status.
Yet, there does appear to be a major contradiction in the government’s actions, for, if by seeking special status the government wants to save precious land, then by pushing forward the Mopa airport it is preparing the groundwork for the sale of the same land.
Let there be clarity on one aspect: There cannot be a viable Greenfield airport in Goa, if there is no corresponding infrastructure development in the State, and infrastructure development requires land. And it is not just land in Mopa and the surrounding villages of Pernem that will be required to be taken up for development, but, assuming that the projected traffic at the Greenfield airport will mean more visitors to Goa, vast tracts of land across the State will be required to house them.
For those still confused over what a ‘Greenfield’ project is, the term, as it sounds, does not bestow any environment friendly status to the project. It denotes instead, a new project where no similar facility existed. So, by its very terminology, we have here a massive project starting from scratch taking up close to 75 lakh square metres of land in a State that is fighting to protect that very precious commodity.
That the special status sought is for protection of the land is validated by the fact that just some months ago, the State Legislative Assembly had passed a resolution seeking special status for Goa for regulating ownership and transfer of land and conservation of land.
Some of the firms that responded to the RFQ sought to know from the government the viability prospects of the airport. For the proposed Mopa airport to be financially viable, it will require vast amounts of traffic and business volumes that special status curbing land sale will not be able to provide. The RFQ document already states that 381 acres (15.43lakh sq m) of land around Mopa may be provided for ‘commercial development to increase the viability of the project’. The government has acquired 74. 99 lakh sq m in Pernem taluka for the airport. Interestingly, the RFQ does not state how much land is being offered for the development of the airport, but makes it a point to announce how much land could be used for commercial development, though the nature of this commercial development is not elaborated upon in the document.
Besides land, it is the projected figures of traffic that need to be looked at closely. When it is fully functional, Mopa airport is expected to cater to 13.1 million passengers, which is the projected traffic for the year 2045. If special status is going to conserve land for Goans, and Goa is already showing a declining population growth rate, where from does the government expect these 13.1 million passengers to come from? It can only happen if the population of Goa increases manifold and quickly. The only way Goa’s population can rise to those levels is through migration into the state.
The 2011 census counted Goa’s population at 14.57 lakh (1.45 million), with a decadal growth rate of 8.17%, that was far less than the growth rate for the previous decade. The population in 2011 was 13.48 lakh (1.34 million) and the decadal growth for the previous decade was 14.89%. At the current decadal growth rate the State’s population by 2021 will be around 15.70 lakh (1.57 million), reaching the 2 million mark only by around 2051.
The existing Dabolim airport’s handling capacity, with the new terminal, is 4.5 million passengers annually, which is three times the present population of Goa. Between April 2013 and March 2014, Dabolim handled close to 4 million passengers. Wherefrom has the government obtained these projected traffic figure of 13.1 million? Not only does it appear grossly overstated, but give rise to the feeling that this could well be a figment of someone’s imagination. For if not, the government should and could have responded to the queries of the interested parties on Monday itself, rather than wait till November 17 to reply.
