(In response to the full page advertisements issued by Leading Hotels claiming their Golf Course and Villa project will turn Tiracol from Barren to Beautiful)
Daniel Pereira
The Voice of Goa, since 1900, O Heraldo, dated 31/05/15 carried on its front page an advertisement authored by the Leading Hotels’ Management entitled, “From Barren to Beautiful Tiracol, The Treasure of Tiracol displayed to the World”. Middle-Men, Bouncers, Legislatio- Judicio-Executive fora etc, to camouflaged the reality and misrepresented the facts thereby projecting the cosmetic and platonic idealism of the company. This innovative initiative is another way of promoting their company’s narcism and unbridle capitalism. The content of the said advertisement is contestable to the core as it is full of misinformation, misrepresentation, farfetched theories, bundles of lies and contradictions. Due to the spatial limitation, I wish to highlight the stark reality of the people and the land of Tiracol so that those who have eyes may be able to see the bleeding hearts and those who have ears may be able to hear the sound of silence of the people of Tiracol.
Gorgeous Goa – Grievous Tiracol: Nobody doubts the beauty Goa is blessed with, but how long can Goa sustain this gorgeousness? Can the concrete jungles, multinational companies’ projects in the eco-sensitive zones be really seen as making the Gorgeous Goa Gracious or vice versa or for that matter making gorgeous Goa a world’s “Garbage”? Do not these projects rob Goa of her natural modesty? Leading Hotels speak of Gorgeous Goa yet it continues to inflicts wound on her face, Tiracol. Has rationalism over taken us so much that we have become victims of sadism to see beauty by inflicting grievous wounds?
Treachery for Treasure: How ironical is it to accept something as treasure yet call it a barren? If Tiracol is not beauty than why invest on the barren land so much money, muscles and manipulations? Why would one instruct, intimidate, lure the local people to do treachery by filing negative declarations in the Court stating falsely that they have not been tilling the given land (when in reality for ages they have been doing so) and that their names have been erroneously entered in the tenants column of the form 1/14? Why would they clandestinely ask the people of Tiracol to file a false affidavit and to render to their representative a General power of attorney? Why would they flaunt Environmental laws and the subsequently give deaf ear to the instructions of the Environmental Judiciary?
Why would one divide people in the village, if not to rule them by dividing them? Whatever may be the reason, even the Sunset Clause hurriedly introduced by our Government as if introducing an “Emergency” in the state smells a rat. This was so timely done that it served greatest advantage to the Leading Hotels since within the months if not weeks of its introduction, tenants names were deleted even though they were established legal reality for more than 10 years by way of legal Judgment issued by then Mamlatdar. The Sunset clause helped Leading Hotels to make the sun set early in the bright morning of the legal status, hitherto enjoyed by the tenants. There was a treachery for treasure for sure.
Diabolic Attributes: Leading Hotels claims to offers undisturbing, environmentally safe and economically progressive attributes to the people of Tiracol. After amassing 95% of the village and promising the people company’s commitment for better living is like lion telling the sheep come to me I will take care of you. Lion’s promises are diabolic. The company that used bouncers to tear into the tenanted land, the famous “midnight terror by the Leading Hotels” is only the foretaste of the future pending terror by the Company in Tiracol.
The Catastrophic Catalyst: The advertisement claims that the Leading Hotels is going to play Catalyst for pushing Goa on the World Site. They fancy the theory that this project will make Goa the tenth top destination in the World. To a sane mind one need not prove the insanity of such a claim. The project that proposes 286 villas will play a catalyst role to attract highest number of tourists in Goa. Are they are also thinking of making this golf course like a public Museum thrown open to the public for free. One thing I am sure that this project would be catastrophic catalyst as it would not only change the demography but also the biodiversity of the place.
The Stinking Norms: The best form of government, democracy is part of our Country. There are no doubts the stringent norms rule on paper but unfortunately in practice it is far from being realized. Leading Hotels’ “ad” preaches its highest regards for Environmental Sensitivity and yet wishes to run its project in the Forest-Zones. The professed stringent norms when translated in reality stink. There are reasonable doubts concerning the legality of the so claimed required permission being procured by the leading hotels to get the work on project started. In a democratic world, a judicial inquiry would have found a number of public officials in the hot waters. It is ironical that even when the matter is in the court of justice for destroying the green-zone and forcibly making inroads in the environment sensitive areas, permissions are granted at the blink of an eye. The cases registered against people associated with the company for illegal felling of trees are still pending in the court. Anarchy is the stinking face of democracy and that is why the stringent norms become the stinking norms in reality.
Doubly Cursed: The company feels that they are being doubly-blessed because of the full support from the Government and the erstwhile landlords. Given the fact that what is honey for one can become poison for another, the Leading Hotels have become honey both to the Government and the landlord for it has shown them the taste of honey while for the people of Tiracol, Leading Hotels is a cup of poison. The people of Tiracol feel doubly-cursed because they have neither Government, Judicial and Executive backing nor they have the goodwill of their landlord. They feel helpless since often they are treated as untouchables for they have neither money nor muscle power.
The Corporate Social Repression: The project of the Leading Hotels is an apt example of social repression. They first created the desired divisions in the village and then by bringing in the muscle force they have created a serious sense of terror, fear and apprehension in the minds of people. Hiring men to counter protest against the Golf Course was the least expected. Once a peaceful place Tiracol, now seems to be under curfew. The presence of bouncers and other uniformed security personnel moving in the village, has altogether changed the cultural dynamic of the place. Leading Hotels speaks of Corporate social responsibility and yet are giving doses of nightmare to the villagers. On one hand they profess to solve the legal issues by offering sale deeds (on the agricultural land?) to the people and on the other hand they are trying to delete names of tenants already existing legally for decades. The water, electricity, banking, WiFi facilities that they promise to make Tiracol a model state sounds ideal, but for how long? And from where and at what cost? The answers are not so simple, the pie in the sky is too far to grasp. The promises are made to be broken. The promises don’t form the legal part of the project but only salutary intonation just like the political promises are. No one is liable for their violation.
The Myopic Vision: To create an eco-sensitive vision one needs to have an eagle’s eye. The Leadings Hotels’ vision to nurture ecologically sustainable tourism is short-sighted as it sees on the Tiracol trees not the green leaves but only “Green-Notes”. The said project is a short term economic benefit for the privileged few at the cost of long term environmental deficit for generations to come.
(The author is a Priest belonging to the Archdiocese of Goa, born and brought up in Tiracol, presently based in Rome.)
