People are amenable to change when it is incremental, and when they believe that the changes being implemented will have a positive impact on their lives. When the contract for a third bridge over the Mandovi River was awarded, Goans were optimistic. Their feelings were no different when work on the new bridge over the Zuari and the broadening of highways commenced. Few opposed the bulldozing and flattening of endless stretches of beautiful village landscapes.
Today, the pendulum has swung the other way. Every time a new project is announced there is a nervousness that permeates the air. There are now escalating concerns that the new bridges, wider highways, together with the expansion of the coal terminal, doubling of the railway lines and the nationalisation of our rivers are part of a sinister plan meant to benefit a few at public expense and significant environmental costs. What heightened these apprehensions was the recent decision of the State Government to oppose the establishment of the National Green Tribunal in Goa on grounds that were difficult for a layman to comprehend. The reaction has been swift.
Over the past month Gram Sabha meetings have begun to call into question the sincerity of the Government’s intentions and have rushed to craft resolutions voicing fierce opposition to many of the ongoing and planned developments. Many of the development works being undertaken are being done so without a vision or policy document. Information shared by the Government is often in bits and pieces, leading some to believe that there is a deliberate attempt to discourage public discourse and debate.
Only a few weeks ago Goans were informed that our State was in the process of finalising a MoU with the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Mormugao Port Trust to commence development of our rivers as part of the grand National Waterways Plan. We were informed that construction work for four floating jetties would commence soon with support from the Centre. It was unclear why and where these jetties were being built or what purpose they would they serve. To this date there is no information from the Government as to what the conversion of a river or estuary into a functional waterway will entail in particular the environmental and socio-economic costs. For a project of this magnitude that will require massive interventions into the lifelines of our State, our environment and lifestyles, it is shocking the Government is trying to rush through with its plans without a public participatory process.
Six of Goa’s rivers and canals appear on the list of 111 rivers, estuaries and creeks that have been earmarked for development under the National Waterways Act of 2016. This Act received bipartisan support in both Houses of Parliament and came into force in April 2017. The Act basically envisages development of inland-water bodies to make them accessible to mechanically propelled vessels. As that Central Government has pointed out, a National Waterways Grid can offer significant benefits. It would help reduce cargo transportation costs, decongest our highways, reduce our nation’s carbon footprint and provide communities in the hinterland with opportunities to share the fruits of our growing economy. In Goa, there is no indication as to what kinds of mechanically propelled vessels have been planned for use in our rivers, what purpose or cargo transport they would serve. There are no indications as to what kinds of interventions will be necessary to make these rivers navigable.
Most Goan rivers upstream do not have the required depth and width, which will most certainly require significant intervention in river morphology and hydrology in the form of cutting, blasting and dredging of the riverbed. The handling and transport of material to and fro inland waterways will require construction of cargo handling sites, storage dumps in case of mines and coal, godowns in the case of perishable cargo, vessel maintenance and repair centers, refueling points. All of this, plus the need to provide access roads to the river banks would require removal of trees and mangrove forests and even displacement of homes and there is every indication that the Government has the right to appropriate these lands in national interest. While, the Environmental Impact Act, 2016 requires a prior environmental clearance (EC) for many projects such as ports, harbors, breakwaters, jetties alongside water bodies, it does not list waterways under its preview.
What this effectively means is that any project that is marked as related to the development of Goan waterways will not be legally bound to obtain prior environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. This is rather surprising given that rivers, estuaries and canals are among the most diverse and bountiful ecosystems, and the rich flora and fauna that they support usually is used by communities residing along river banks as a source of food and income. It will be mostly incumbent on Coastal Zone Management (CRZ) within each State to provide these clearances.
Goa’s rivers are part of a subset of 37 rivers that have been earmarked for development within the next three years. What is unsettling is that the general public is still completely oblivious of the Government’s plans. Successful implementation of the National Waterways project in Goa will depend largely on Government’s ability to galvanize public support. For this to happen the Government needs to know that it will benefit from an informed rather than an ill-informed public. The Government will help itself immensely if it provides every Panchayat and Zilla Parishad with a copy of its vision and policy document for development of Goa. It will need to ensure that all ideas and plans for individual waterways are thoroughly discussed and debated, and the advantages and disadvantages of each and every project, as well as the social and environmental impacts of every intervention into our waterways is examined and discussed in detail.
(The author is ex-scientist NIO, Goa and presently Professor, Columbia University, New York).
