PANJIM: Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party led government of replicating the Gujarat development model in Goa in the case of the Tiracol golf course and resort project, the Congress, on Thursday, demanded that the ambitious project be stayed by quashing and setting aside all clearances granted to it.
Addressing the media, State Congress President Luizinho Faleiro admitted the mistake of his party’s government under Digambar Kamat to grant approvals to Leading Hotels Ltd for the project. “I am not here to perpetuate the illegality conducted by my government at that time. For that do you want me to commit suicide? Or through this throw thousands of villagers into the Indian Ocean?” he asked.
The golf course and resort project of Leading Hotels Ltd proposed at Tiracol was a dream project of the then Kamat government, carried forward by the BJP government. Leading Hotels Pvt Ltd has acquired over 9.90 lakh square metres of land of the 12 lakh square metres required for the project. All the acquisition was done during the Congress government.
“Successive governments, including the erstwhile Congress, have failed to settle the issue related to the project,” Falerio said, a day after visiting Tiracol. “My heart is crying to see the situation at Tiracol, known as a historical heritage village,” he lamented.
Raising objections to the project, Congress demanded that the government bring a stay order on all operations of the project and quash and set aside the clearances granted by the Town and Country Planning Department, Goa State Pollution Control Board and State Environment Impact Assessment Authority.
“By way of these clearances, our present government has sold the entire Tiracol village, villagers, tenants, to one particular party. The project proponents have created terror in the village with people there living in fear,” Faleiro said.
“I would like to know from the government who is going to live in Goa if Goans are dragged out of their own village and habitat illegally in favour of one party,” he asked.
“This is the Gujarat model, where few businessmen are smiling at the cost of hundreds of farmers. We don’t want such a model in Goa, we will not allow it,” Faleiro said.
The National Green Tribunal has currently stayed all the development work of the project.
