It is a well known fact that besides the area meant for operations, training, etc, the Navy has vast land which is being used for recreation, guest houses, etc and it is part of this land that is being sought for expansion of Dabolim airport.
Our loyalty to the institutions we served, even when unfairly treated by them, is understandable. However, one should not try to impose one’s views about the institution that one served, on others. It cannot be contested that there is surplus land available at Dabolim, which is utilised by the Navy for golf courses, football grounds, guest houses and residences even for those not working in Goa. Some are being constructed next to the civil enclave. Since the Navy is also occupying vast areas at Cavelossim and Verem, it is surely not unfair to ask them to shift their recreational fields from Dabolim to these places or elsewhere. Some of the top Navy personnel at Dabolim, have also conceded that since they work under their superiors’ orders, any instructions from them to release more land, would have to be complied. Since this truth is before us, I must leave it to the intelligent reader, to decide who is “ill informed” and what is so “ridiculous” about opining that the Navy should give up some of the surplus land so as to bury once for all, the controversial Mopa project. Moreover, the argument, however baseless it may be, in favour of another airport is that Dabolim, as it stands now, will soon be saturated. However, we are painfully aware that irrespective of what Goans may demand or aspire for, it hardly matters particularly when it comes to Armed Forces, who will always have their way and the last say, whether justified or not. As the protectors of the country, they feel that they are entitled to the best of our properties and they go about it with arrogance and disdain for those who dare oppose their advances. What is sad is that, in their anxiety to project themselves as super-patriots, some Goans put the interests of their own land in the backburner, not for the need but for the greed of the Navy. Out of around 1840 acres that the Navy occupies at Dabolim alone, only around 40 to 45% are used for operations, around 30% for residences and balance for recreation. The Navy had also set its eyes on a beach and two more Goan beautiful islands at Bimbwel and St George. They had even invoked emergency clauses to take over the beach. It may not be long before they usurp them, unless Goans resist it with all their might, which they must. The Navy’s stubbornness and the Defence Ministry’s casual approach to the need for additional land at Dabolim have already left Goans divided. Another unnecessary airport is being thrust upon us, at far away Mopa at a very high cost, which could have been used for other much needed development of this State, and depriving the poor farmers of Mopa of their precious land, which is their only prized possession. The intransigence of the Navy was even echoed by Manohar Parrikar, when he was Goa’s chief minister. He had affirmed that he could not approach the Navy for additional land, as they would not yield an inch. I wonder whether he holds the same view now and whether he is in a position to impose his will now. The Navy may deserve respect and gratitude for protecting the country and its citizens, but their failure in keeping their word and sticking to their commitments both at Angediva and Dabolim, here regarding the release of 12 acres of land, for expansion of airport, as well as their grabbing tendencies at Bimbvel and St George have lowered their prestige in the eyes of Goans. The self-proclaimed defenders of the Navy chose to remain silent on the constructions coming up in Survey 8/1, just 200 mtrs from the Navy gate at Dabolim, which the Navy had protested against in writing, as posing a security threat.
Another interesting point raised in the article is that the writer perceives some of us as having “thought processes which are Goa centric and not India centric”. Yes, it is time we, Goans, become Goa centric after having watched painfully and helplessly the use, misuse and abuse of Goan land by the Armed Forces. I maintain that, despite being the smallest State of India and the last to be merged into the Union, Goa has perhaps contributed the most to the Armed Forces by way of land in proportion to the State’s area. We have been overgenerous with them and I dare say that the Central Government and the Armed Forces have taken us for granted and taken undue advantage of our docility and goodness. Nowhere else would this be tolerated! No other State would have parted with so much of prime land. Neither the Naval base at Dabolim nor Angediva have the sanction of Goa’s Legislative Assembly, leave alone popular sanction. Of course none of Goa’s MLAs would have the guts to oppose it. Despite promises to quit, the Army continues to hold on to some prime space in Panjim, much needed by the CCP to decongest the city, vast lands in Mormugao Taluka, from Dabolim to Vaddem and to Sada are occupied by the Navy. What has happened to Goa in the last fifty-odd years and particularly in the last 20 years or so is the result of being India-centric. The overwhelming influx of migrants with all its related problems, the unprecedented exodus of Goans, the unavailability of affordable land for our sons and daughters, etc, etc should be a matter of grave concern for those who care about Goa. No doubt, our indifference and the complicity of local politicians have helped the process of de-goanization. It is imperative that, at least now, Goans and the government join hands to avoid further exploitation of Goan hospitality and mild nature and stop once for all the evil designs of those who have been treating us with contempt despite our generosity and goodwill.
(The author is a retired banker)
