Team Herald
LOUTOLIM: D-Day is fast approaching for the beleaguered farmers of Loutolim and Borim villages. These farmers are staring at a potential catastrophe where they risk losing their ancestral and unique khazan lands, which have sustained their livelihoods for generations. The issue extends beyond the farmers to encompass the local fishing community, whose pisciculture-based livelihoods are equally at risk.
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On December 2, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) will take up their joint petition, where the farmers have mounted a fierce opposition to the construction of the proposed high-level Borim Bridge. Their primary contention: the project lacks a comprehensive Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study.
The farmers argue that the construction would significantly disrupt the fragile ecosystem of the khazan lands, comprising saline wetlands, fertile paddy fields, and intricate water management systems. These lands, protected under Clause 8(V) (3) of the CRZ Notification 2011, have sustained local agricultural and fishing practices for over 4,000 years.
They said that even if the bridge is built on stilts, the required approach roads through the khazan fields would cause irreversible damage to the soil and water systems. Once mud is introduced to the fields, it cannot be removed or desilted, and the alluvial soil (chikol) spreads, potentially impacting adjacent areas.
Despite the legal and environmental concerns, the State and Union Governments remain undeterred. While the final notification for land acquisition has been issued, the farmers remain steadfast in their pursuit for justice.
“At present, there is a status quo, but next week, whatever the outcome of NGT, we are filing a petition in the High Court,” said Albert Pinheiro, President of the Carbot, Mascasana & Bebdo Tenants Association in Loutolim. Pinheiro emphasised that their objections regarding the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) remain unaddressed, with no clarity on the environmental issues they’ve raised. The farmers’ collective hope rests on the legal system addressing their grievances and ensuring a fair resolution to their plight.
The Farmer’s Perspective: A Story of Generational Connection
The story finds its most profound expression through farmers like Noel Quadros, whose family’s connection to their khazan lands stretches back generations. His meticulously crafted objection letter to the land acquisition authorities reveals a complex tapestry of legal, environmental, and cultural arguments that go far beyond simple property disputes.
Quadros begins by establishing his family’s long-standing ownership of these agricultural lands in Loutolim village. These are not merely plots of land, but living repositories of familial history, carefully tended and passed down through multiple generations. Each furrow in the field represents decades of agricultural wisdom, each patch of land a chapter in the community’s ongoing story of survival and sustenance.
He therefore says that the land acquisition proceedings are “grossly illegal and null and void ab initio”, because these critical clearances are absent.
The farmer’s critique goes beyond mere technical legalities. He questions the very premise of the land acquisition, pointing out that the original project plan—which included a bridge arm connecting Ponda to Margao—has been dropped. This omission, he contends, exposes the lack of genuine public purpose behind the land acquisition.
Quadros does not mince words, accusing the government of engaging in “fraud, deception, and abuse of powers for private profits at the expense of public interest”.
“No amount of compensation can replace our agricultural lands,” Quadros emphasises. His statement is not mere rhetoric, but a profound articulation of the deep, almost spiritual connection between the farmers and their land. He describes this connection as an ‘umbilical cord’—a metaphor that captures the life-sustaining relationship between the people and their traditional agricultural spaces.
Farmers remain undeterred
While the government insists on the project’s necessity, the farmers remain undeterred, fighting for sustainable development that respects traditional practices and ecological integrity. As the NGT verdict looms, the community clings to hope, determined to protect its legacy.
