TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: The Goans for Dabolim Only on Sunday slammed Chief Minister, Manohar Parrikar for his statement that the Navy would never ever give a square meter of land for Dabolim airport expansion. Terming the statement as a big lie, Fr Eremito Rebello said Parrikar’s undue haste in pursuing Mopa makes them believe that he is part of the airport scam.
Reacting to Parrikar’s statement that Navy would never give even a square meter of land for Dabolim, Fr Eremito said the Navy had been generous to Goans and hoped an “adamant” Parrikar would not make the Navy “adamant”. “The Navy had in the past been generous to Goans. And, we expect the Navy to show the same generosity by allotting certain land for Dabolim expansion which can cater to the future requirements,” Fr Eremito said.
He pointed out that the Navy had agreed to allot nine acres of land for Dabolim airport expansion following a joint meeting in Delhi between various agencies, including the Navy and Goa government represented by then Tourism Minister, Dr Wilfred de Souza. “Because of the Navy’s decision to earmark the land, the new terminal has been built, while the apron is being extended. Land was earmarked for two taxiways, but the Goa government did not bother to pursue with the various agencies on the taxiways”, he said, while urging the Chief Minister to ensure that his government pursue with the concerned authorities to use the allotted land for the taxiways.
“All this goes on to prove that the government is fooling and misguiding the people of Goa on the airport issue. The government is lying. Even before the government could engage in discussions with the Navy, the Chief Minister says that the Navy would never give a square meter of land. This only goes to show that the Chief Minister appears part of the airport scam,” Fr Eremito added.
Replying to a question, Fr Eremito said the Goans for Dabolim Only will continue its ongoing movement till Mopa airport is finally scrapped. “We are not going to wind up our movement just because Parrikar says there won’t be a re-think on Mopa. Our battle would continue with the people and the movement will be taken to its logical conclusion,” he asserted.
The Chief Minister had on Saturday, stated that the Navy would never ever give a square meter of land for the Dabolim airport and even offered the Navy land at Mopa if they are ready to shift from Dabolim.
