Statehood completed the regional aspiration as a political entity. But our State has actually become more corrupt and despite a large civil service it is badly governed. Every State government is worse than the other. By becoming a State, though we achieved a little extra power, we lost out on grants. In the time of a pandemic, the State is dependent on the Central government for their grants. The National Disaster Management Authority has made the State cabinet redundant and it is the IAS officers who have taken over the administration. The Centre-State relations are now working in a centrifugal nature with the powerful Centre.
-Cleofato Coutinho, advocate, columnist
We need to introspect about the overall transformation, which has taken place in the last 33 years after Goa got Statehood.The demography of Goa has changed completely. We now need to focus on promoting our own rich cultural and social heritage, if the true spirit of Goa needs to be preserved.The COVID pandemic has given us an opportunity to look back and take lessons from the past. The traditional occupations, community co-ordinations especially in villages, need to be revived.We don’t need superficial makeovers to glorify our State. Beauty is gifted to us. We just need to nourish it.
-Digambar Kamat, Leader of Opposition
Goa is handicapped in terms of raising its own revenue of the proportions required for development projects and to support social security schemes. However, that’s not an unfair price to be paid for the Statehood status as along with this flows greater political autonomy and independence.Today, it looks that Goa along with development has also integrated with the unhealthy currents of the national mainstream. Goans will have to make efforts to preserve the social harmony, which is under trial and conserve its unique natural environment which is put on sale under pretext of economic development by greedy politicians and vested business interests.
-Prabhakar Timble, educationist, columnist
We not only became a State in 1987, we also got the radical new version of Panchayat Raj in 1992. So we had everything in place to create a small, efficient, State administration, which consulted regularly with people about development plans. In 2008, we even designed a proper regional plan and sent it to the panchayats for their discussion and approval – something never done before in any other part of the country. But somehow, our elected leaders have refused to entertain the notion that people should be consulted. For this reason, Goa has become a battle field all these 30 years.
-Claude Alvares, Environmental activist
We may have gained to some extent in terms of social indicators if you look at the all India statistics. But Goa’s development has been totally unplanned. The utter chaos and confusion unleashed by tourism – which supposedly contributes to over 30 per cent of our GDP – says it all. The less said about the environment and education the better. There’s no going back from where we stand now. It’s all downhill. Only a forward thinking political leadership, willing to take on board the views of people, who really care about Goa and the environment can steer us away from this self-destruct mode.
-Devika Sequira, Senior Journalist
As I recollect those nostalgic moments, the days leading up to the declaration of Statehood, we had huge protests, agitations, anger all around. There was this feeling that we had to break free from the clutches of the Centre. We dreamt of total control, protection and overall prosperity of Goa, employment for all Goans and no more Babus from Delhi issuing orders.
Alas, 30 years down the line, those dreams have turned sour, that beautiful, peaceful, serene and green Goa has vanished and instead there are concrete jungles, destruction of fields, hills, orchards, rivers. Greed, corruption, political bankruptcy is the order of the day.
Capt Viriato Fernandes, Co-convenor, Goencho Avaaz
I don’t see any tangible advantages or benefits of Statehood to Goa as compared to a Union Territory in the last three decades. We continue to depend on the Centre for funds. All major decisions and projects are pushed down on us by the Centre or require its nod. The federal structure is almost non-existent in practice. It was touted that decision making in public administration would be faster after Statehood, but it has hardly been so. The only difference is the number of legislative seats that have gone up to 40 from 30, and we got 12 Ministers instead of 3 or 4 earlier.
Savio Correia, activist, advocate
If you ask me whether my aspiration about Goa is fulfilled, unfortunately to be true to myself it is a big NO. Main infrastructure on education, health and industries were already in place before statehood ship.
Today we are in a very precarious condition mainly because of closure of mines and tourism sector.
There is huge scope of increasing ease of doing business, if politicians and bureaucracy get behind investors for which there are different tools like investment promotion board IPB, but currently its missing or there is a lack of vision. We all need to look at State first. I consider Goa to be the best and we can deliver with aligning political and bureaucratic thought process in the interest of only the State.
Anil Counto, Chairman cum Managing Director, Alcon Group of Companies
Since gaining statehood Goa has made tremendous progress on the socio-economic front to finally earn the status of a full-fledged State on May 30, 1987. Goa has continued its rapid progress on all fronts and has emerged as one of the most prosperous and advanced State in the country
Narayan R. Bandekar, Chairman & Managing Director, NRB Group of Companies
Each Statehood day stirs up a wide range of emotions. Goans often dwell on whether indeed Goa would have been better off as a Union Territory instead of an independent State. This Statehood day, on when I’m asked how Goa has changed, I would respond with a few counter questions meant for reflection, such as, “Where is Goa headed?”; “Have we Goemkars been complicit in its degeneration?”; “Do Goans no longer have a say?”; “What have we done for our Goa?; and “How do you plan on changing the status-quo?”. Ignorance is not always bliss; it can also lead to permanent and irreversible damage.
Wilbur Menezes, Constitutional, Criminal lawyer
We did get a lot of benefit because of the Statehood bit. Simultaneously, not taking the COVID-19 pandemic into consideration, we have sold out Goa to non-Goans. We have neglected agriculture, basic resources and put our educated youngsters on the path of misery. It is compounded due to the prevailing situation. The general slowdown is almost in the entire economy and I am really worried as there are no serious efforts to uplift the economic atmosphere. Therefore the road to the future is difficult.
Ramakant Khalap, Former Union Law Minister
The statehood for Goa was good. However, along with the good came a lot of bad too. Some things like Goa had never seen before, namely corruption, nepotism, monopolies, resources of Goa under the false pretext of development. The latest is the influx of mass migrants from underdeveloped States. The bad outweighs the good. All this seems irreversible and definitely not a good sign. We asked for a separate State. Never in our wildest dreams did we expect all these negatives. We are proud to be a State of India, but not at a cost that would destroy the basic peace and tranquillity of Goa.
Wilson Mazarello, Tiatrist
From a sleepy and conformist hamlet to an assertive and non-compromising cosmopolis, Goa has undergone its greatest churn and changed impressively over the past three decades. There’s an underlying sense of discontent as the people of Goa have been watching their experiments with democracy embarrass them. They’ve been equally humiliated by a techno-political driven development and a pseudo-secular attempt at balancing them. What however has emerged is that people have found their voices through RTIs, through PILs and the unforgettable people’s movement. Caught between a more demanding citizenry and a self-centred politics is abysmal governance. Goans wrested a State but got no Statesmen to govern.
Ajay Thakur, senior journalist
We could have been still better than what we are today. We always compare us with other Indian States but we need to be on par with other western States by now. We have very good roads, bridges and accessible politician. We have very good law and order. We still have very good primary, secondary and tertiary health care system. But we need to drastically improve on cleanliness, which really pains me. Internet facilities should have also reached the extreme interiors of our small State, by now. We still struggle to get good net connection even in Panjim city.
Shekhar Salkar, doctor, cancer specialist
After attaining Statehood Goa has made tremendous progress in education, development, infrastructure, be it roads and bridges. We got our own High Court (bench) and the judiciary was brought to the doorsteps of every citizen by constructing courts in every taluka. Tourism scaled to greater heights as the second-best revenue earner to the state’s coffer.
But in due course of time, Goa also lost its beauty, its glory, due to irreparable damage done to our land by unplanned constructions throughout the state. Agriculture, which was the backbone of our economy was sidelined. Unplanned mining has also made a big impact on our environment.
William Fernandes, tiatrist
When we got Statehood, it was like we are going to manage our own destiny. But in the process we have only managed to rape our environment. There is forest degradation, water depletion, excessive mining, and increasing pollution. We were much better earlier because we had to listen to the diktats of the Centre being the Union Territory. We were much cleaner and healthier and greener. There are also many lifestyle diseases in the present scenario.
Joe D’Souza, environmentalist, scientist
Today, when we are about to complete 33 years of Statehood, I feel the real shade and picture of Goa is on the verge of extinction. We have been seeing two categories of Goans, the old Goans in our State and the new approaching with Goan identity. Our freedom fighters’ blood and efforts to free us from Salazar’s dictatorship, ban on civil liberties, and ban on press is forgotten. The importance of being “liberal” is never even literally understood by few. The life then in Goa was harsh, the life now in Goa we have made is worse
Neelam Pirankar, teacher
Goa has dramatically changed during the last 3 decades. The infrastructure has been developed. Transportation is easily available to travel anywhere in the world, but thefts and crimes have increased due to migrants coming to Goa. The ‘susegad’ Goemkars cannot live in peace any longer on account of ‘rakus’ created by the migrants. In sports, lot of equipment has been imported and lot of facilities have been provided to new generation. Speaking about entertainment, tiatrs were held in ‘matou’ earlier, but now people enjoy it in well-equipped halls and auditoriums. Earlier, tiatrs were a passion to several tiatrists, but today it has turned into business.
Ceasar D’Melo, member secretary of Tiatr Academy of Goa
Since Goa received Statehood, the political system has remained unstable. It shows that Goa has not able to fit into the true ingredients of State of the of republic union of India. Till date, Goa could not get its own high court. The State’s annual budgets, ODP, Regional plans, therefore get manipulated leading to misadministration. Thus, Goa has not been able to become self-sufficient and has had to depend heavily on the Centre and neighbouring States. Goa therefore is not keen to appoint district planning authorities and hence the development is done via nodal agencies leads to misappropriation of funds due to unplanned expenditures.
Rameshwari Morajkar, advocate
Goa was an Rs 700-crore-economy in terms of GDP in 1987 and today Goa is an Rs 90,000- crore-economy. If one go by these govt figures, Goa has achieved annual compounded growth of almost 15% over last 33 years and these are phenomenal growth numbers. It’s also one of the highest among any State in the country. This was possible mainly due to expansion of mining and tourism activities in Goa during last 30 years. There’s lot of infrastructure development that has happened especially in towns but I feel Goa needs to do lot more in rural areas especially in education and health sectors.
Dr.Sanjay Dessai, Principal, CES College
Thirty-year-old Goa is a mature State. It may be geographically smaller than the District of some big State but Goa has achieved all round development since. Back then, there were many intellectuals, experts, economists, politicians and even some common people who did not like this development and felt Goa would not be able to self sustain. But Goa has proved them wrong. At the same time, we have invited trouble upon us as well. In the name of tourism and mining, we have lost our image, culture and nature. Many many Goans surrendered their citizenship and many migrants have entered Goa in search of jobs.
Vishal Dessai, Self-employed
We have to understand that growth doesn’t mean only development and money. In the last thirty years, we have seen a lot of development but we have also seen a lot of damage to our nature. Agricultural land has been converted into concrete zones. For the purpose of development, we experienced destruction. Rampant tree cutting, hill cutting, mining and land filling have cost us huge irreparable losses. Our rivers are polluted and the polluting industries and unplanned tourism has also added fuel to the fire. I can say Statehood has brought evil things and wrong deeds in Goa. For me, it’s not a boon.
Vrusha Kopre, Medical Student
Our fertile lands have turned barren. In the last thirty years since Goa got Statehood, Goa lost its status of a once -flourishing agricultural land. Goa was known for agriculture, horticulture and for traditional farming. Earlier, we would take two yields per year. Now you can see huge amounts of land that have been kept without cultivating. Goans are not ready to put their hand in the mud. Goans are hesitating to take farming as profession. We were self sustaining earlier, but now we depend on others. Concrete jungles are not a sign of development as the State is now more dependent on others.
Sara Naik, Farmer
When Goa was declared as a State that time the scenario was different. Goans were given preference in government jobs then and most of the shops in markets were also run by Goans, as the Goan youth were educated. Today’s scenario is the opposite. At the time of declaration of Statehood, Goans had a feeling that people from Goa will get first preference in every sector including upcoming developmental revolution. Now after 3 decades of Statehood, Goans are continued to be kept aside continue to struggle to get a job in their own State. Due to shortage of jobs, Goans are forced to migrate abroad.
Amar Naik, advocate
We Goans should express gratitude to all those who voted against its merger into Maharashtra. However,development-wise long-term planning is lacking especially in the agricultural sector. We don’t have intra-state railway transpiration system, which is the cheapest mode of transport, whereas in other States it is the lifeline. The youth try to migrate to other countries as jobs are not given on merits here. Goan intelligencia have given benefits to various developed countries. Senior Citizens are left to fend for themselves. For all this, there is no sense in blaming the government as we have elected representatives. The virus of corruption has embarrassed the Goan populace
Shankar Nadkarni, Doctor
To start with a good note, Goa is on a fast track development as far as infrastructure development is concerned. Road network, Mopa airport, multiple tourism related projects. However, the sad part is that the State could not make itself self-reliant. We still depend on neighbouring states for milk, vegetable, fruits, groceries etc. COVID-19 has exposed our excessive dependence on other States. There is not been enough reforms in field of education. Education needs some drastic measures to make it more advanced and to fit it to needs of economy.
– Pradip Kakodkar, Chartered Accountant
Goa being a State with its smaller population compared to others, could have been the best State among all the States in India as it has best network of administrative services and level of education. I only feel that the execution and coordination within departments should be done with utmost seriousness. Now, if that happens, then no one can stop us from being the best in future too. Goans are no more ‘susegad’. I firmly believe and wish from the extreme of my Goan heart that if all the above criteria are fulfilled selflessly, it would give the true meaning to Statehood.
Amay Prabhudessai, Advocate
Being a medical practitioner, I believe that Goa has witnessed a positive change in the health facilities and infrastructure emergency services have improved to a great extent. Goa has lot of scope in improving medical academics and research though our green State of Goa, has to preserve its serene nature, environment and natural resources for posterity.
Pradnya Kakodkar, Doctor
A famous Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “Change is the only constant”. Yes Goa has changed; life, livelihood, culture, food habits, technology have all changed. I wish and pray amidst these changes that our simplicity of lifestyle must continue and our friendly and hospitable nature must triumph over arrogance and high-handedness. Harmony among religion has to be strengthened. Our dignified traditional occupations like farming, fishing, bread making, sausage making etc be encouraged and supported. Job opportunities with decent salary for Goans should be given. While everyone is welcome to come to Goa to enjoy – the culture, cleanliness, ecology has to be respected.
– Fr. Joaquim Rebello, Principal IHMCT, Curchorem
Any marginal gains of the last 3 decades of Statehood pale before the five major areas, in which the day-to-day life of the common Goemkar is affected. There is increase in corruption, deficit in trust in the government, mismanagement of finances leading to uncontrolled government borrowing and the quality of governance has gone from bad to worse. The employment scenario is so bad that Goan youth are compelled to leave home and family to seek a decent living by taking up work abroad. The hopelessness brought about by the present govt’s antics makes me believe that ‘we were better off as a Union Territory’.
Prashant Naik, Goa Forward Party Spokesperson
