Team Herald
PANJIM: Reviving concerns from 2009, when a similar marina project at Nauxi, Bambolim, was scrapped due to vehement opposition, activists and environmentalists have voiced strong opposition to the central government’s No Objection Certificate (NOC) for a private jetty at Malim, alleging it’s a veiled attempt to push forward a marina project.
Penha De Franca Village Panchayat biodiversity management committee (BMC) chairman Ganpat Sidhaye said, “I read it in newspapers and there are no details. The government is pushing through projects without consulting locals. This issue has to be discussed in the gram sabha as biodiversity issues are involved. The proposed project will cause problems for fishermen and locals and put pressure on infrastructure mainly on roads. Already the Mandovi river is occupied by casino boats and is congested. I don’t know what would be the condition of the river when yachts will join the fray. It will also directly affect the marine life.”
Penha De Franca Village Panchayat BMC member and environmentalist Pravinsingh Shedgaonkar said, “Malim jetty is built as fishing jetty and Britona village houses a traditional fishing community. In the name of marina project the government is trying to hand it over to casino operators. If the private player finds that operating jetty uneconomical then the BJP government will allow him to use it for casinos. Marina projects should be allowed along the beach side and not near the rivers. Besides environmental impact assessment (EIA) is yet to be conducted. I had suspected the government’s intentions when it nationalised six Goan rivers.”
Former Zilla Panchayat (ZP) Member Adv Suresh Palkar spearheaded the agitation against the marina project at Nauxi.
Palkar said, “I came to know about it after reading the newspapers. River Mandovi is already congested as it is occupied by off-shore casino boats and river cruise boats. The proposed project at Malim jetty will affect the livelihood of fishermen. It will further affect the depleting shellfish like clams and it will become extinct.”
Activist Adv Shankar Phadte said, “The programme of developing inland waterways should be aimed and directed towards ease of commuting the common man which would also include the tourists. Planning of these routes and execution on the projects should have been done with active involvement of the Captain of Ports, river navigation department and the NIO.”
According to Phadte, the development plan at Malim was a classic example of the Department of Tourism stepping in to dole out State infrastructure and resources to private players. “This will open the flood gates of corruption. The marina infrastructure is different from inland waterways and should not be confused. Marinas will be constructed by private companies and State resources will be exploited for the leisure and luxuries if the super-rich. This is certainly not what the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has envisioned when drawing plans for developing inland waterways,” he added.
Mandovi Fishermen Marketing Co-operative Society Ltd chairman Francisco D’Souza said, “We have been using the Malim jetty for fishing for the last several years. But we are unaware of the government’s plans. We don’t know where the private jetty has been proposed.”
The Society is established by the trawlers owners. About 140 trawler owners are using the Majim jetty.
On Thursday, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) granted the first No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the private jetty project at Malim on river Mandovi through its newly launched digital portal. The Rs 8-crore project by Mumbai-based Marina India Infrastructure Private Limited is designed to berth up to 16 privately owned yachts and pleasure crafts up to 30 metres in length. The jetty will support docking and undocking for each trip. The project aims to boost river cruise tourism along the waterway.
The readers may recall that the first marina project proposed by the Mumbai-based Kargwal Construction Limited at Nauxi faced rough waters after locals and environmentalists opposed it. In July 2022, the Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) stated that it had terminated the lease agreement with the project proponent. The lease agreement was signed in October 2010.
“Goa, which is the smallest State of India, is made up of just 3702 sqkm of land, forest, rivers, estuaries and coastline. Nationalisation of rivers by the Inland Waterways Authority of India by permitting private jetties along rivers under National Waterways (Construction of Jetties/Terminals) Regulations,2025, may not go well as is with the casinos and river cruises polluting our rivers. Our rivers are meant for fish breeding and other aqua activities as means of livelihood for a part of our population. Just as our lands are being sold for big prices to outsiders by destroying our forests, agriculture and environment so also our rivers will see its doomsday soon if such private jetties are granted permissions on river fronts in the guise of development and boosting tourism,” said |Oswald Pinto from Porvorim.
“It’s high time our government should explore some other means to boost our economy rather than destroying the very little that nature has bestowed on our tiny Rome of the East and Pearl of the Ocean,” Pinto said.