Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa Trinamool Congress (TMC) has opposed the proposed amendments to the TCP Act stating that the changes will spell doom for the State if enforced.
Goa TMC leader Jorson Fernandes said, “Goans must wake up from their deep slumber and in one voice demand that the proposed TCP amendments be withdrawn forthwith as these would imply the destruction of whatever little land is left now and at the same time displace Goans for the benefit of new colonisers who will benefit from taking over the land for the so-called grandiose projects.”
He further said, “The so-called TCP amendments are meant to benefit non-Goans as the State does not need golf courses, film cities, film studios, residential schools, race courses, yoga and meditation centres at the cost of the destruction of agricultural land and eco-sensitive zones. The immediate beneficiaries will be builders, land developers, greedy land speculators who have already displaced Goans on a massive scale.”
Stating that Goa’s forests, mangroves, khazans, paddy fields, cutting of hills, and filling of low-lying areas will be now the order of the day since the builders will be able to build anywhere without any permission, Fernandes questioned, Can most of the Goans afford to patronise such fanciful projects?”
He said, “This will have a telling effect on the infrastructure and the carrying capacity. The future generations will curse the present generation for allowing such a monstrosity which ultimately will displace the Goans from their own soil, leading to uprooting of locals for the benefit of outsiders.”
Pointing out that the present-day politicians have no scruples at all and are greed-oriented, the TMC leader said “They need to be countered in a strong voice that these amendments cannot be forced upon the people of Goa and that the blatant illegal filling of low-lying areas, cutting of hills, ugly concrete constructions on hills and other areas leading to the destruction of the most sensitive areas will be not allowed at all.”
