TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Even as the Aam Admi party continues its road shows through the week, accompanied by its theme song by Cosme Fernandes, the party has written to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar expressing its deep concern that the Government has “created this hostile atmosphere for Goans in their own land through wrong policies, failure of the executive and arbitrary decisions.”
Thursday saw Dr Dattaram Desai start at the Gandhi circle at Old Goa and proceeded through St Estevam, Corlim, Cumbarjua, Corlim, Ella village, Bainguinim village, Ella Saza and Carambolim.
On Friday it was the Mapusa market.
In its memorandum, AAP has listed the theft of iron ore and the Regional Plan. Speaking about the Regional Plan, convenor Rajeshree Nagashekar in the memorandum argues that the Regional Plan 2011 that was notified in 2006 with massive zone changes that would have literally destroyed Goa, was scrapped in 2007 under massive public pressure. It also questions the government on why it continues to violate the Constitution by denying the gram sabhas their right, and the citizens their right to self-governance?
RP 2021 was also frozen following public protests, as plans prepared by villagers through detailed grass-root planning were ignored and individual requests for zone changes from speculative interests were fulfilled, AAP argues, adding that both the plans had failed to consider the needs and aspirations of Goans, and attempted to bring in large scale ‘mega-projects’ by destroying existing communities and villages.
It also points to and criticizes the real estate speculation due to which the fragile environment of the villages is being torn apart, displacing local communities and destroying sustainable economies.
Large plateau lands of Goa have always been maintained purely for agricultural use, forestry, grazing and collection of medicinal plants. In addition to being repositories of our biodiversity and rare medicinal plants, these plateaus house the aquifers that feed the villages situated around them with ground water, springs and rivers, thereby sustaining life in the water-scarce summer months. AAP alleges that Industrial estates have been created on the plateaus after acquiring huge amounts of common lands and handing them over to private industries. Accusing the government of ignoring agriculture, it alleges that numerous lakes, water bodies, and irrigation systems are being neglected and even filled to be replaced by playgrounds, structures, roads, etc.
The tribal and other forest dwellers of Goa have not been given their rights over their forest lands yet. The State Government has failed to take necessary steps to facilitate the preparation of forest right claims to be made by forest communities, thereby denying the villagers their fundamental rights.
