July 18, 2016
GFDO PRESS STATEMENT Goans For Dabolim Only (GFDO) expressed surprise that Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had invited Prime Minister Modi to come down to Goa and lay the foundation stone for the proposed international airport at Mopa. GFDO however, wondered if the Prime Minister was aware that the Mopa Airport project is facing stiff opposition from the people of Goa and is embroiled in three court cases. Two of these cases have been filed with the National Green Tribunal in Pune, presenting the various unaddressed environmental concerns of the people and disputing the validity and the integrity of the EIA, based upon which this contentious project is sought to be imposed. The third case, which is pending in the Supreme Court, questions the legality of the land acquisition process for this project. GFDO said that if Prime Minister Modi is aware of the precarious foundation based upon which the Mopa Airport project is sought to be built, then it appears to be highly unbefitting for a Prime Minister to be perceived as setting his seal of approval on such a project mired in controversy, until the doubts have been addressed and laid to rest. In fact, the failure of the Goa State government to attract adequate number of bidders for a competitive RFP process, thus compelling it to grant a fourth extension to the RFP for the proposed Mopa Airport only justifies what the expert reports like ICAO Feasibility Report have been saying all along, that the relatively small amount of air traffic in Goa does not provide a strong argument for two airports and that “a single airport is the most efficient solution for Goa”. The unviability of Mopa Airport is evident from the fact that the State Government felt it imperative to offer an incentive of 15 lakh sq. metres of land for pure commercial development to the Airport developer at FAR of 2.5. Even with this incentive the government has been unsuccessful in attracting the required number of bidders to make it a competitive process and has therefore been compelled to grant repeated extensions for the RFP bidding process. Recent reports have stated that 8 brand new airports which were proposed in 2009 alongside Mopa and constructed in some of the country’s tourist hubs, have not seen any aviation activity because of less than projected demand. According to information provided by Civil Aviation Minister A Gajapathi Raju in the Lok Sabha in April this year, India spent a total of Rs 600 crore on 25 airports across the country in just two years when these airports were technically operational but did not handle a single scheduled flight. In other words, the unviability of these airports has turned them into ghost airports. In fact, 50% of India’s airports remained unused throughout 2015. Prime Minister Modi himself, in tacit acknowledgement of the fact that the PPP model for airports in India has proved to be unviable and economically unfeasible, has reversed the government decision to privatise Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), too, has discouraged the privatisation of these airports suggesting that the government carry out a rigorous cost-benefit analysis before taking a decision on these four AAI-run airports in Chennai, Kolkata Ahmedabad and Jaipur. Hence it would be relevant to ask if PM Modi would really be willing to participate in the Parsekar government’s fruitless endeavour of bulldozing this unfeasible airport through without any basis, justification or relevant data by laying the foundation stone for this project. GFDO also questioned whether it was rational for the Central MoEF and the Goa State Pollution Control Board to grant Environmental Clearance and consent to this contentious project despite no proper studies being conducted on the eco sensitivity of the Mopa plateau and the environmental implications and repercussions of setting up an Airport in this biodiversity hotspot. Given the court cases that reflect the controversy this project is embroiled in, is it not highly unethical to proceed in giving clearances until these matters and objections have been satisfactorily cleared? Shockingly, the Goa Government has already commenced the gigantic task of creating required infrastructure for this unviable Mopa Airport in the shape of extravagant signature bridges and massive highway expansion etc. to provide the necessary connectivity from Mopa Airport, inexplicably located at Goa’s northernmost tip, to the rest of the state. All this when Goa already has an existing and centrally located airport in Dabolim. With the precarious condition of Goa’s treasury, the state government has taken massive loans from NABARD and other sources, putting Goa in the grip of a spiraling debt trap. At Rs.93,000 per person, Goa has earned the dubious distinction of having the highest per capita debt per person in the entire country. In fact, this unfortunately, has been the general trend of the BJP State government’s rule, which has been characterized by the foisting of untenable policies on Goa and Goans like the Investment Promotion Board (IPB), which promote and enshrine the concepts of unaccountability, unsustainability and arbitrariness. Its refusal to justify and base its policies and projects on scientific studies, data and analyses despite repeated appeals and relevant questions from the people of Goa establishes its contempt for the basic principles of democracy which demands transparency. According to R C Khurana, Ex AAI Director and Chairman of the Site Selection Committee for Mopa, the Airport is being set up in an unsafe terrain. Mr. Khurana went on record to say that “Mopa is unsafe and inadequate as a location in Goa’s future interest from an aviation point of view”. Why then is the Goa Government compelling Goan taxpayers to pay for the infrastructure made necessary by the setting up and location of the proposed Mopa Airport in the shape of spiraling public debt, substantial increase in taxation and displacement and disruption of lives and livelihoods of thousands of Goans! GFDO said that it would be prudent for CM Parsekar to re examine the viability of the proposed Mopa Airport and collect authentic data and facts before putting the Prime Minister into an embarrassing position by getting him to come and lay the foundation stone for a future ghost airport. Sd/- Eremito Rebelo Siddarth Karapurkar
