MARGAO: Reacting strongly against Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant’s statement criticising NGOs, Rainbow Warriors (RW) on Monday stated that it is the people of Goa, not NGOs, who are valiantly defending this land from the greed of a few.
Speaking to media persons, Abhijit Prabhudesai of Rainbow Warriors asked the government, why is it not taking the consent of the people before deciding on its projects?
“Why is the government lying to the people, like claiming that the double-tracking is for vegetables, tourists and the Navy (exposed to be lies by the Supreme Court orders), or concealing all information and refusing to consult the people, even in grave matters such as National Waterways Act, Major Ports Authority Act, Sagarmala Project, Comunidade Code amendment, Mopa Airport, three linear projects etc? Why is the government not transparent with its intentions and information, and why does it not obtain the prior consent of the Gram Sabhas for all its decisions?”, Prabhudesai listed several questions before the government.
He said, “The decisions and projects of every government have been against the people for many years now. The result is not just massive financial debts and increasing burden on the citizens, or catastrophic destruction of our hills, forests, plateaus, water resources, khazan, etc, or collapse of science, communities, social security, mental and physical health and other social sectors, but also the real possibility of extinction of our species due to the grave threats of the climate crisis, resource depletion and ecological collapse.”
“The people’s decisions are always for the betterment of the future generations, while the government is blinded by the short-term profits of a few, placing our children’s lives in jeopardy,” he stated.
Diana Tavares, another member of the RW said that the government’s past decisions have led to the verge of the irreversible collapse of civilisation, proving today that the people’s decisions and resistance were always right.
