Tourists may still find the pace of life in Goa slower than in the rest of the country and drop in on the State for some rest and recreation, but for the quintessential Goan, socegado holds no place in his vocabulary. If it ever did, then that is changing, as the State itself gallops towards change, and with a limited area, it’s already bursting its seams to accommodate the changes and the demands of its population. Yet, if the Goan is in a hurry, there are others, the government being one of them, that does not appear to be in any rush to keep pace with the changes.
In a State where land is scarce – one must take into account that large areas of Goa are forest areas or delicate khazan lands that need protection – and where government cannot take far-reaching decisions without taking citizens into confidence, expansion of its urban areas – whether vertical or horizontal – is a subject of debate, analysis and often protests. In the past decade, and even before that but especially in recent times, no government has been successful in imposing its will on the people, without at least a whimper of a protest being made. And when it comes to the land, the Goans are unlikely to give up their soil easily. And that is where the speed of development does not match the pace of government work.
Land use patterns proposed by the government – past and present – have drawn a lot of opposition from the people. The Regional Plan 2011 that was released in 2006 was scrapped by the government following a major protest in the State over proposals to convert green areas for settlement, commercial or industrial use. The new Regional Plan 2021 was drafted, was notified after consultations with people and seeking their views through the gram sabhas, but was later withdrawn for corrections and still awaits a release. As a result, Goa plods along and ahead with a Regional Plan that is well past its use by date, and no urgency is shown to get the process restarted.
The lack of a plan has led to runaway urbanization of Goa that is haphazard and not too healthy. Not only have buildings sprung up in paddy fields skirting the urban areas, but there are concrete monsters in the rural areas giving Goa the distinct urban quality, where only little agricultural activity takes place. Today we are already seeing little to differentiate between an urban area like Panjim with a rural one such as neighbouring Taleigao. Porvorim, Calangute, Candolim are perhaps more developed than towns such as Pernem and Valpoi. Very soon land use changes and urbanization could fuse together Goa’s towns and villages into a larger city.
Goa’s urban-rural character is getting quickly undefined, with some villages appearing far more developed than many of the towns, a fact not lost on the census takers. The State has 14 municipalities and 181 panchayats, but there are 56 census towns that are counted as urban areas. A census town is one that has a population of over 5,000, where at least 75 percent of the male working population is employed in sectors other than agriculture and has a population density of a minimum 400 persons per sq km. It is the political machinations in retaining many of these census towns as panchayats that are an area of dispute. One main reason for not upgrading the panchayats to municipalities is the higher taxes that would have to be paid by the residents.
Even if the rapid urbanization slows down, the character of Goa will change and it will take policy decisions to maintain it. The Goa Golden Jubilee Development Council’s Goa 2035 Vision and Road Map proposes that Goa’s urban spaces be made “pedestrian and bicycle friendly by having footpaths and bicycle lanes etc. Discourage the excessive use of cars through pay parking, parking nodes etc. Invest in fast, efficient, clean rapid bus transit system for inter-city and intra-city travel. Goa should also think of higher use of its waterways for transport, a mode that was quite popular in the first half of the last century.” The council was chaired by Raghunath Mashelkar and presented its report in 2012.
While that is an Utopian vision of an urban area of Goa, bringing in all those changes, however, is not going to be easy. A few years ago a report on Panjim for the International Competition of Sustainable Urban Systems Design, prepared by architects Rahul Mehrotra, Sanjay Prakash, Aromar Revi and others had visualized Panjim as ending up like a corridor town that rings Mumbai by 2050 if planning remained the same. If immediate steps are not taken to change the planning process, that could happen. Admit that Goa’s towns are still small in size. A few weeks ago, architect Charles Correa had said in an interview with Herald, “There is no big monster city dominating Goa. Panjim’s population is still under 80,000 – a bagatelle by Indian standards.” But that could change. By 2050, Goa, in area smaller than some districts of India and with a third of its area being eco-sensitive, could find itself being what many across the country think it to be—one large city.
Before that happens Goa has to come up with strong strategy, to ensure that its natural resources are not only protected but also developed and regenerated for future use. Today, Goa’s energy needs are dependent on the National Grid and power generated in other states. Food grains, fruits and vegetables, and almost all manufactured items come from across the border. A rapid urban change could force Goa to depend even more on imports of food and energy. In the rush to ensure development, there has been little concern shown to make the land and its resources sustainable, little done to improve the quality of life of the citizen, little to a situation that must change.
Change then is a must, but it should not be the unplanned version that is currently speeding Goa towards a chaotic city state. It should be the planned version that would take Goa on that same path but sans the chaos. To a large extent Goa’s economy depends on tourism and the tourists will not come if the changes make for a different Goa. But more important is the Goan himself who resides in the State. If he is not socegado, then the government and bureaucracy should also not be laidback in their manner of working. The State and its residents can work together to ensure that the city-state in the making does not lose its unique character.
