Mopa airport, the needlessness of which I had brought out in several articles in these columns, in the past, is now nearing completion, of its first phase. The primary argument that was put forth was that Dabolim had not yet reached the saturation point – that with little more land, promised by the Navy, out of the lakhs of the area occupied by them, including a golf course, two football fields, housing, guest houses and other entertainment facilities, this old airport, nearly equidistant from North and South Goa, could continue to serve Goa, for many more years.
Incidentally, the Navy occupies 2442, 3396 acres of land in Goa and unsatisfied with this, had also demanded additional 227.77 acres, which included the Bimbvell beach and the Grand & Pikene Islands. Also, in conversation with some of us, the Navy top brass in Goa had said that they would part with required land, provided there was a request from the government, which did not happen, despite Parrikar being the Defence Minister, thus exposing the sincerity of BJP Government.
Arguments against Mopa were many, some of which are still worth noting: 8.4 sq kms (of Goa’s scarce 300 sq kms of available developable land) of fertile, cultivable land with lakhs of fruit-bearing trees, belonging to poor farmers, including 36 fresh water springs being handed over to a private party to build not only an airport, but golf courses, casinos, commercial and housing projects – the project is at the foot of Western Ghats, where adverse environment impact and disturbance of flora and fauna would be inevitable, due to sound and fuel emissions. This, despite India being counter-signatory to the site protection assurance by MOEF to UNESCO – poor tribals, living on cultivation and rearing cattle, being displaced and eventually rehabilitated in flats, thus killing their livelihood the Government, under Manohar Parrikar, cunningly chose to acquire the land, less than two months before the new Land Acquisition Act came into force, with sole aim of depriving poor farmers of additional and substantial compensation – the choice of Mopa, on the border of Maharashtra by Goa Congress leaders, owing allegiance to that State, would promote tourism and develop beaches more across the border than our own, besides the fact that it would be too far from South Goa.
Consequently, large tracts of land would be acquired for road widening and easy access to the airport, depriving people of their property and dissecting our close knit villages that aviation expert agencies like ICAO & ADPI had, in feasibility reports, strongly opposed two airports within 150 kms of each other the unbelievable bogey of 10,000 jobs from a government regularly indulging in false promises,– and finally but very importantly, the palpable fear of inevitable influx of non-Goans into Mopa, which would result in Goans around the place losing their jobs and trades. With us, Goans, not being fighters nor as hard-working as the migrant labour, it may not be long until jobs and trades are taken over and Goans displaced, leading to social unrest in the area. Though this is my greatest apprehension, I can only hope and pray, it doesn’t happen.
The Mopa greenfield airport has been developed by GMR Airports subsidiary GMR Goa International Airport (GGIAL) on a public private partnership (PPP) model, on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis. This airport will be a full-service airport catering to both domestic and international passengers besides providing freight services.
Now that Mopa has ultimately come up, any opposition to it now, would be meaningless. Three issues, however, cannot be lost sight of and need to be insisted upon: 1) The safety aspects and quality controls at the new airport 2) Jobs for locals, especially to those who have lost land and jobs due to airport construction and 3) Dabolim is retained for civilian flights.
Recently, statements by the CM that Mopa is nearly 95% ready have been contradicted by reliable reports that the airport is far from complete. It is also said that approach roads are not in place and access to airport narrow and difficult. Haste in inaugurations, on the eve of elections and for taking credit for the ventures have led to accidents and sub-standard work being executed. Unfortunately, major projects everywhere are embroiled in corruption and cuts, leading to poor workmanship. The Morbi tragedy in Gujarat is one such example, where the FIR did not even name the contractor responsible for the repair of the bridge, indicating active connivance of police and authorities.
People, particularly from Pernem Taluka, must insist and ensure that jobs at the airport go to locals, as this was one of the contentions for building another airport. It should not be another Konkan Railway or Verna Industrial Estate, where migrants far outnumber Goans or are even preferred to locals.
We were denied Special Status despite our Assembly’s unanimous resolution and Prime Minister’s own personal assurance. If GMR finds Mopa unviable, with Dabolim still operating, do we have any doubts that Dabolim will close by the stroke of a pen, despite all the swearings?
Tourism being the only flourishing industry in Goa, the Government must realise that closure of Dabolim, will spell doom to this industry in South Goa, painfully adding to the already scary unemployment scenario. Hotels will lose on occupancy, restaurants, shacks, small businesses, self-employed, eateries and small catering houses will suffer tremendously with people losing jobs and income. Let us hope we will be spared of his gloomy scenario.
In Goa’s best interests, Mopa and Dabolim must co-exist, as Governments are elected to serve the entire State and not only parts, where they hold sway.
(The author is a retired banker)
