Wesley Edward Pereira
My letter on the sewerage master plan had appeared on the edit page of the Herald (September 25). Which new sewerage schemes were included in the master plan? Can we allow more JICA funded large sewerage infrastructure schemes in villages of Goa for promoting unsustainable projects?
I now refer to the Ex-ante Evaluation report of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the presently executed Goa Water supply & Sewerage project. Section 2 of this Ex-ante Evaluation report is on necessity and relevance of Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) assistance for the project. Under this section of the report (refer page 1), it is stated that Goa State, which is situated close to the central part of the west coast of the Indian subcontinent facing the Arabian Sea, has a population of 1.4 million and is attracting a large number of foreign tourists every year (around 1.8 million in 2005).
How many foreign tourists visited Goa in the year 2005-2006? As per the Eleventh Five-Year Plan 2007-2012 and Annual Plan 2007-2008 report (Refer Section 9.2 Tourism, pg.245), 180310 foreign tourists were brought in by 719 charter flights during the season 2005-06 (October 2005 to May 2006) and 45% of the foreign tourist arrivals was by charter flights. Considering remaining 55% of the foreign tourist arrivals by non-charter flights and other modes of transportation, the total number of foreign tourist arrivals in Goa during the season 2005-2006 is approximately 4,00,000(0.4 million or 4 lakh). The figure of 18,00,000 (1.8 million or 18 lakh ) foreign tourists indicated in the Ex-ante Evaluation report of JICA is 4.5 times more. The JICA Goa Water supply & sewerage project was therefore approved based on wrong information on population demands!
Further, according to the Ex-ante Evaluation report of the JICA Goa Water Supply and Sewerage Project, the target areas for the Sewerage component are Margao, Mapusa, and North Coastal Belt in Goa State. The Herald news report (October 1, 2015) on the Carmona mega housing project mentions about a sewerage treatment plant & sewerage line covering three villages of South Goa. Are there plans to extend the target areas for the sewerage component of the JICA funded Goa water supply & sewerage project to villages along the River Sal to promote unsustainable tourism & mega housing projects?
The topographical /contour land use-maps and the settlement plans are key requirements for proper layout planning & design of the sewerage utility networks, sewerage treatment plants and outfall locations. What is the population demand for planning large sewerage infrastructure projects in villages of Goa?
