MARIAN PINHEIRO
Goa is one of the smaller States in India, occupying approximately 3,702 square kilometres. Out of India’s 3.287 million km², Goa occupies just 0.11% of the land of India. Goa has a population of 15.85 lakh (1,580,000) whereas India has a population of 1,450,935,791, according to Worldometer. That is, Goa’s population is less than 0.11% of the nation’s population. This small but picturesque State is sustained by 11 rivers. These rivers have 42 tributaries.
A very large quantity of fresh water flows from springs and rivulets originating in the Western Ghats of either Maharashtra or Karnataka into these rivers and tributaries. The approximate total length of the rivers within the State of Goa is 362 km. The total area within Goa under the category of river basin is 3,702 sq km. The polluted stretches of rivers amount to 84 km.
Today, these water bodies are facing numerous threats and if urgent appropriate steps are not taken, they might even become extinct. Extensive mining in the State has been silting the rivers through mining rejects; transport of the mineral by barges through rivers, oil and grease along with mineral ore causes severe pollution. Ammonium nitrate used as the explosive for mining adds nitrates to the river water, causing eutrophication. The discharge of untreated industrial wastewater into the streams is another dominant polluter.
Most of Goa’s soil cover is made up of laterites, which are rich in ferric aluminium oxides and reddish in colour. Further inland and along the riverbanks, the soil is mostly alluvial and loamy. The soil is rich in minerals and humus, thus conducive to cultivation.
The soil’s composition, the extent of alluvial soil, and the long stretches of rivers and their tributaries, along with the climatic conditions, make Goa an ideal State to promote agriculture and other agriculture-based productive activity like aquaculture, pisciculture, shrimp farming, crab aquaculture etc. Every inch of Goa’s land is therefore productive. Goa should have become a productive State instead of continuing as a consumption State, so that it could carve out its independent economic existence within the Union of India. Goa should have been independent in agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairy farming and all such allied production-oriented activities at least a decade after its liberation.
The stark reality is, Goa is wholly dependent for its energy requirements and other essentials on other States. It seems the Goan politicians considered the land and other natural resources only as a source to enrich themselves and not as a means to empower the people with occupations, avocations, and lead them to prosperity.
Sixty years on, the same trend continues with much more vigorous efforts at exploitation of its land and resources by calling it ‘development’, which in fact is causing the fast and sure destruction of Goa, its natural beauty, its capacity to produce, and the accompanying environmental degradation. The total focus of the politicians (ministers and MLAs) has been on how to convert Goa’s land and use it for unproductive purposes, wherein land instead of becoming a source for production becomes a liability, needing water and electricity to sustain the structures built on it, in addition to increasing the level of pollution in the State.
The numerous housing projects, in addition to affecting the demographic equilibrium in Goa, have caused severe scarcity of essential resources like electricity and water, and the skyrocketing of prices of day-to-day essential commodities. In addition to destroying the existing land and water surfaces in Goa, it is making life of a common Goan more and more arduous and dangerous. Worst is, these lands will remain unusable and unproductive for generations, and millions of unborn Goan children will be silent victims of this thoughtless greed.
When the State government speaks so much about future plans for development, have they ever thought about how to augment the increasing shortage of energy requirements in the State and the requirement of drinking and potable water for the common people? The Indian Constitution mandates land preservation through Article 51A (g), which makes it a fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests and wildlife, and through Article 48A, which emphasises the importance of protecting and enhancing the environment.
There seems to be a huge planning deficit—or is it incompetence, or even corruption—that prevents the State government from taking initiative to augment the very requirements for producing its own energy. It’s more than two decades since huge technological advancement has taken place in alternative energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, and wave energy etc., but the Goan politicians seem to be totally oblivious of all these developments, their focus being only on personal enrichment.
Goa has seen a huge reduction in cultivable land, up to 30%, which is a huge drop in land use. The often-mentioned excuse is non-availability of agricultural labour, but the true fact is the government’s apathy and indifference to agriculture, because these politicians did not see any personal or quick profits, like in the case of land conversion. The least the government could have done was actively subsidise agricultural operations, provide technological know-how and use of modern implements for agriculture and other productive activities by utilising the levies from mining and tourism industries for agriculture. That is called ‘economic planning for the prosperity of the people and the State’. The Goan politicians have failed miserably in securing the interests of the State and its people.
Goa, with its coastal location and monsoon climate, is vulnerable to natural disasters including cyclones, floods, heavy rainfall, and landslides, with earthquakes and tsunamis also posing potential risks. The Western Ghats in Goa, while known for their rich biodiversity and unique topography, are becoming a potential disaster zone due to unchecked hill-cutting and environmental degradation, increasing the risk of landslides and other environmental disasters.
The nation witnessed an array of devastating natural calamities that underscored the urgent need for climate action, especially preservation of land in its natural form. Each of these disasters echoed a common warning—the climate clock is ticking for humanity.
(The writer is a
Professor of Law & an
Education Consultant)