Viksit Goa, but not Goans

Old trees cut, at the cost of micro-climate, global warming, and wildlife collapse. Schools closed, at the cost of children’s futures. Markets closed and shop shutters down, at the cost of vulnerable livelihoods. Street dogs disappeared and roadside cattle driven away, at the cost of their wellbeing, even lives. Normal traffic, public bus services, and even emergency traffic seriously affected, at the cost of time, money, health, and worse.

What does this sound like? Evacuation before some disaster, or preparation for some attack? No, no, just the Goa government getting ready for a one-day visit of the country’s Prime Minister (PM). And, in their usual commitment to the all-important tourist population, they announced that (amidst all the chaos and destruction, and whatever happens to anyone else) anyone going to the airport or railway station would not be inconvenienced.

Can the state government explain why trees had to be cut and street dogs evicted for the prime-ministerial visit? And how children attending school would harm the PM? Yes, the traffic on the roads might be higher as a result, but children going to school surely counts as essential traffic? Besides, many of them would be travelling in school buses, thus creating the least chaos when it comes to traffic. If anybody should have been asked to stay at home to avoid creating traffic snarls, one would surely start with the PM himself and his unending cavalcade of vehicles. But you can’t expect Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to understand this simple fact, not when he himself has hiked the size of his own entourage – to ensure he creates more trouble for everyone else on the road, because that, apparently, proves how important he is.

What was the purpose of the PM’s visit? Is talking about Viksit Goa (Developed Goa) so important that it justifies the loss of trees and wildlife, dogs and cattle, income and education, not to mention the huge amounts of public money that gets spent in ferrying a VVVIP around the country? Because talking is exactly what he did here, besides completely unnecessary and vainglorious activities like inaugurations and laying of foundation stones, most of them apparently online. Goa, he declared, will be developed as a destination for conference tourism; its connectivity improved to make it a logistics hub, and, through the establishments of many institutions, also an educational hub. The promise of a super-duper hub of tourism, logistics, and education – that was his basic message. Seriously, couldn’t this have been said from Delhi?

Especially since most Goans are hardly going to benefit from this Viksit hub. The PM praised the state government for implementing all central schemes brilliantly – yes, the same state government which, after spending tens of thousands of crores of our money on infrastructure, and destroying the environment wholesale in the process, is simultaneously failing on every front when it comes to basic infrastructure for local communities. This state government claims that Goa is ‘har ghar jal’ (every house has water, one presumes), when severe water shortages are becoming common in many Goan villages, right from Pernem to the north, to Quepem in the south, even as projects for ‘villas with swimming pool’ are cleared at lightning speed all over. Similarly, this self-proclaimed ‘Open Defecation Free’ state has umpteen families (Goan families, not the vilified migrants) all over the state who still do not have toilets at home despite repeated applications; not to mention a capital city where the municipal corporation’s (CCP) public sweepers and garbage collectors are told by their own supervisors to ‘do it behind a tree’.

As for road infrastructure, where does one start? Everywhere you look, local communities are up in arms against the grabbing of their land by prestigious national road projects which, according to the Chief Minister himself, have already cost the public a whopping Rs 20,000 crores. With the government now slashing taxes on luxury cars, while ignoring the decrepit state of public transport, we know who the new highways are being planned for. But when it comes to roads actually needed by the people, where is the government? Goa had no road good enough for an ambulance to approach the house of a Goan man, Mr. Paik Gaonkar, in the tribal village of Kazugotta in Sanguem, after he suffered a heart attack on Republic Day last month. And no basic ambulance service either. Not only did the ambulance have to halt 2.5 kilometres away from Gaonkar’s home, the vehicle itself was not equipped with even a stretcher, leave aside other life-saving equipment. The grievously-ill man was carried to the ambulance in a blanket on the shoulders of a family-member, and had passed away by the time he reached the hospital.

Kazugotta is not the only tribal village in Goa which still lacks motorable roads, say tribal activists, who have demanded that the government explain where the tribal welfare budget of hundreds of crores of rupees has gone. A new road had actually been sanctioned in Kazugotta for Rs 4 crores in 2013, but was never completed, despite repeated complaints by locals. When villagers recently took up the issue with the authorities, they were told that the road would now cost 10 crores, and that it was hardly justified to spend that much money on a village of ‘just’ 150 people.

So, twenty thousand crores are available for roads that locals do NOT want, but not even ten crores for a road that people desperately need. Goa also has helicopter cabs for the super-rich to hop from spot to spot, but no emergency medical services for locals. This is what CM Pramod Sawant apparently means by ‘purna swaraj’ or complete freedom – complete freedom for corporates destroying Goa’s environment, for tourists consuming Goa, and for super-rich Goans like those who killed 3 people in Banastarim with their luxury SUV.

Goa’s connectivity is being improved, so the PM says. And well he might. We cannot provide a basic road or ambulance service to a village of 150 Goans, but we are happy to hammer all normal life for the super-fast passage of his cavalcade, which incidentally always includes a top-quality ambulance – or two – whether he travels by road or air. This is actually a preview of the Viksit super-hub that Goa is becoming even as we speak – international-quality connectivity for the moneyed and powerful, and disconnected locals.

 

(First published in O Heraldo, dt: 10 February 2024)

Highways to Heaven, or Hell?

The slogan Bomkarank zai bypass can be seen as soon as you enter this village on the Panjim-Ponda highway. The people here are up in arms against the widening of the highway, as planned by the government, from two lanes to four; and demand a bypass instead. Widening will mean the destruction of many houses, they say, besides dividing the village even more than today, and affecting the village temples, situated right next to the existing highway. They ask how come this government which keeps talking about ancient temples supposedly destroyed by the Portuguese, and has even set aside crores for rebuilding those non-existent temples, has no concern for the temples of today. (more…)

Tenancy Reforms – Bandodkar’s Unfinished Project

Several decisions of Dayanand ‘Bhausaheb’ Bandodkar continue to impact the lives of Goans. Certainly his unrelenting efforts to democratize education comes to mind. But for me, the crucial policy that Bandodkar inaugurated were the land reforms which, rather unfortunately, remains his unfinished project. Successive governments have either evaded or deferred addressing the pending cases, while mundkars continue to knock on the doors of powers that be, rendering Bandodkar’s dictum ‘land to the tiller, house to the dweller’ a rather distant dream. (more…)

Short-Circuiting Humanity

An employee of Goa’s electricity department, Krishna Pawar, variously described as an ‘assistant linesman’ or a ‘lines helper’, was killed in the last week of November, electrocuted while climbing down an electricity pole in Siolim after doing some repairs. ‘Action’ was immediately announced by the government. As announced by Sudin Dhavalikar, Power Minister, this ‘action’ included a suspension of the linesman who was Pawar’s superior, placing a junior engineer in the same office under scrutiny, and setting up an enquiry by a ‘high-powered committee’. Dhavalikar further added that the dead man’s family would receive compensation ‘according to the norms’ in two months, along with a job for the widow which he said he personally guaranteed. (more…)

Of Goans, OCIs, Passports and Citizenship

The revocation of Indian passports of those whose births are transcribed in the Birth Registry at Portugal, on the basis of a purported circular of Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, is nothing but a continuum of the motives underlying the passage of  the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, of disenfranchising and disentitling certain sections of the Indian population that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party loves to hate.  This includes the Muslim communities., the Dalits, the Scheduled Tribes, the many Goans whose births are transcribed in Portugal, and the many Goans who have affirmed their Portuguese citizenship, and run the risk of not securing an OCI card or having an OCI Card cancelled. (more…)

No Coast for Fisherfolk

Goa should become the maritime hub of the country, feels Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. What exactly does that mean? At first hearing, it sounds like a lot of hot air. Speaking at the Global Maritime Summit 2023, the Chief Minister claimed that Goa’s maritime sector is no less than a “multi-faceted powerhouse” driving economic growth, innovation, and connectivity, “from ship-building and repair, to cruise tourism, from maritime education to port-led industrialisation…”. He further urged the Union Government to develop Goa’s coastline as a “major multi-modal maritime logistics hub”. (more…)

Can’t democracy be more meaningful?

India is a democracy. This is supposed to mean rule by the people, or their representatives. But if you check out with voters – at least in Goa – you will find that most do not like many of the decisions of the government; that some voters might be even furious about the actions of the government; and that almost everybody feels helpless. For example, when the members of the Goa government recently awarded themselves a hike in pay – how many of the voters of Goa agreed with this decision? How many voters in Pernem support the recent zoning changes proposed by the government, converting huge swathes of non-settlement zone land into settlement, that too when Pernem is already facing a crippling shortage of drinking water? How many voters in Panjim like the incessant building projects and roadworks, and exorbitant projects of what can only be called uglification of the city? How many voters across Goa like the great seemingly-unstoppable land-grab, which directly imperils the environment as well as the lives of all vulnerable peoples, even as there remains – according to official sources – a backlog of 16,000 hectares of destroyed Goan forest waiting for afforestation? (more…)

Of Marriage, Bigamy, Family and UCC claims

By ALBERTINA ALMEIDA

The discourse of the ruling dispensation on Uniform Civil Code (UCC) centres around ensuring that Muslims can no longer marry four wives, with the claim being that a nationwide UCC will maintain communal harmony. The idea, presumably, is that one law for all makes all the religious communities get along better with each other. Even as recently as May 2023, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, said that “the Uniform Civil Code is needed to ensure communal harmony in the country”. (more…)

Towards an Agriculture Policy for Goa

Key objectives of an Agriculture Policy

Agriculture has its own standing, but it is also part of an ecosystem that has to ensure right to food, life and livelihood, right to climate resilience and protection from climate change. Therefore, Goa’s Agriculture Policy must aim to ensure that agriculture is retained and sustained and that there is sustainable growth in agricultural production with equity. Consequently, the words ‘sustainable’, ‘growth’ and ‘equity’ are key to development of agriculture.

Identification of socio-cultural and economic determinants of land use

The socio-cultural and economic determinants of land use need to be identified in the policy, if equity, and consequently sustainability is to be achieved. Further, Goa has a rich history of agricultural production achieved through toil and hard work. If Goa is green and a land worth fighting for, it is because of the toil that has got it thus far. However, this toil is neither recognised nor valued. Added to this is the fact that family labour of women and children in the field is invisibilised, or engaged in subsistence agriculture, which is not counted as work. All this results in people abandoning agriculture.

Recognition and Dignity of Farm Labour and Decent Income

Therefore, agriculture can only be sustained through ensuring both recognition and dignity of farm labour, and a decent (as in comparable) income from agriculture. Addressing casteism and gender is intrinsic to lack of recognition and dignity to farming, is critical .

Bio-diverse Agriculture

Time and again, it has been emphasised that the key to sustainability is also through discouraging mono-cultures, and actively supporting bio-diverse agriculture and replacing chemical inputs with organic inputs. Hence, the farmers, specially those with small holdings (less than two acres of land) need to be hand-held and subsidised through the process, while livelihoods through agriculture are secured for the long run.

Equitable Access to Agriculture

How can access to agriculture be facilitated to attain sustainability, growth and equity? Access to agriculture can only be effective if there is equitable access to land, equitable access to schemes, equitable access to credit and equitable access to water. Do the persons actually physically cultivating have the access?

NO TO FURTHER CONVERSION OF FIELD AND ORCHARD LANDS

The Land to the Tiller Act, is a positive piece of legislation, in terms of access to land, on which access to schemes and credit are hinged. But currently, it is also weaponised by land sharks, to plant persons making false claims of agricultural tenancy, which, together with the bouncers, is sufficient enough to drive even a small land holder or actual cultivator to concede to a distress sale, which in turn leads to real estate occupying not just farmlands but even fields, and of course, the downslide of agriculture. Therefore, once it is clear that fields and orchard lands cannot be converted, these kinds of false claims could be substantially averted.

RETHINK NORMATIVE PRESCRIPTIONS FOR SCHEMES

Those left with the lands as they cannot be sold to real estate, should be able to work those lands. For this, they have to, among other things, have access the schemes. The normative prescriptions for the schemes must take into account Goa’s realities of many small landholdings. There has to be a needs assessment to envision schemes, and not targets by way of restrictions not to provide the benefits of the schemes to the eligible beyond the number set. This together with timely disbursement (NOT reimbursement) of the financial assistance for the scheme while monitoring the compliance, will go a long way. Schemes must consciously include schemes supporting organic farming and organic inputs.

ACCESS TO FIELDS, YES! ACCESS THROUGH FIELDS, NO!

Physical access to fields is important to enable a tractor or harvester to access the field, and must be ensured. But access through fields for roads which become thoroughfares when there are big broad roads parallelly must be banned. In a village like Taleigao, it has actively reduced the area under cultivation, besides encouraging real estate projects to creep in on agricultural land. Penalties for such projects, and requirement of restoration, besides penalties for planning and development authorities and panchayat elected representatives and authorities who sanction this destruction of agriculture, could help. Such disablers of agriculture have to be addressed in the agriculture policy, apart from pro-actively ensuring enablers of agriculture. Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) before undertaking any measures that would adversely affect the traditional lands and resources of indigenous and local people, must be mandated in the agriculture policy

 

ACCESS TO WATER, TO UNPOLLUTED WATER!

Without access to water, and unpolluted water at that. agriculture is not possible. So apart from schemes for subsidising construction of wells, the existing water bodies must be preserved and sustained. Here it is important that the policy addresses also the disablers of agriculture. Farmers in Taleigao have requested that there has to be a regulation of the amount of water extracted by tankers, and a cap on further tanker licencing. This year, in February itself, the ondos in Taleigao had run dry. Also, the agriculture department should have powers to address issues of discharge of sewage and garbage in the fields, and to ensure that there is no blockage or disruption of drainage system which adversely affects agriculture.

AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT NODAL:

PREPARING DATABASE OF LAND HOLDINGS, INVENTORISATION OF KINDS OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS, DRAINAGE ROUTE MAPS, SECURNG PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION

For this purpose, the agriculture department has to be designated as the nodal department in matters agriculture. It has to have a database of the landholdings, sizes, and inventorisation of the various kinds of agricultural lands including khazans and the various kinds of agricultural uses that the agricultural land is put to, besides drainage route maps. Presently, the Agriculture Census is handled by the Department of Planning and Statistics, and it appears that that information is not found with the Department of Agriculture. Good governance should ensure that the census data is provided to, used and applied by the concerned Department.

It is the Agriculture Department that should feed information for the preparation of land use maps, apart from securing people’s participation in database building, in the way the bio-diversity act provides for the same. The Agriculture Department should also conduct inspections and periodic studies that identify the needs of farmers and also the disablers of agriculture so that appropriate steps can be taken suo motu, without waiting for complaints.

V.V. IMPORTANT: ADDRESS DISABLERS OF AGRICULTURE

All this information must be harnessed to ensure that mining, and mega projects that will require roads through fields and will decimate the fields, or that will require water consumption that the area cannot cater to, or which does not have space for sewage and garbage disposal should not be sanctioned, and here again penalties must be specifically prescribed for those who sanction in clear violation of the provisions. Not allowing OCI Card holders to hold agricultural land is detrimental to Goa, given the context of forced (by circumstances) migration in current times, only for purposes of employment to return to Goa in retirement.

INCLUSIVENESS: GENDER

Also, there have to be mechanisms set up at local levels that will ensure participation of all farmers. Here it is also necessary to specially prescribe proactive measures to enlist female farmers and encourage women to be part of the farmers’ clubs, as against the male only farmers’ clubs today.

REVENUE GENERATION FOR CLIMATE RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE

The fields and agricultural lands are the lungs of the locality and also prevent flooding in the areas. They are its climate resilient infrastructure, whose benefits are reaped by all the residents of the locality, and especially the high rise real estate projects in the locality. Considering the amount of resources that these projects draw from the locality, there must be a cess levied on the builders/unit-holders of these projects, and even more so on those who have second homes in Goa, so that the not so viable low lying fields can be maintained and there is value for work done in the fields.

INCORPORATE REQUIREMENTS FOR REVITALISATION OF AGRICULTURE UNDER FOOD SECURITY ACT

The requirements mandated by the Food Security Act, 2013, for revitalisation of agriculture, such as ensuring livelihood security to farmers by way of remunerative prices, access to inputs, credit, irrigation, power, crop insurance, etc., and prohibiting unwarranted diversion of land and water from food production, must be incorporated..

ACCESSIBLE ADMINISTRATIVE REDRESSAL MECHANISMS, ACCOUNTABILITY AND MONITORING

There must be accessible administrative mechanisms for justice, within the Department for addressing violations. There must simultaneously also be judicial remedies for holding violators in governance accountable. Similarly, there must be a monitoring mechanism.

INSTITUTIONALISED BASIC AGRICULTURE EDUCATION FOR ALL

Basic education in agriculture must be taught in a graded way in schools and colleges. This education must be institutionalised and must not be at the mercy of a school management that will allow a proactive teacher to incorporate it in her teaching.

In summary, in the policy, there must be a vision statement, a statement of the socio economic and cultural determinants of agriculture, a thrust of proactively enabling equitable sustainable growth in agriculture and proactively addressing the disablers of agriculture.