September 1, 2016 GFDO PRESS STATEMENT Whilst strongly condemning the Goa Government for going ahead with awarding the Mopa Airport project bid in the face of stiff opposition from the people, Goans For Dabolim Only (GFDO) said that it was hardly surprising since this was absolutely in keeping with the BJP government’s dogged insistence on pushing ahead with the construction of an unnecessary and unviable airport at Mopa that will swallow up and destroy 84 lakhs square metres of scarce Goan land, much of which is fertile prime agricultural land. The 20 villa Terekhol Golf Course Resort, the Canacona to Pernem super highway and new Industrial Estates that will be required to provide the indispensable economic support to this airport are all symptoms of the malaise that afflicts the thinking of the State government, where the food and water security, future and quality of life of our generations to come are all sold off without consideration and appreciation of Goa’s biological capital – its forests, wildlife, ecology and biodiversity.
In the past four and a half years of its tenure, the BJP State government has been the architect of the wholesale and systematic destruction of Goa with its totally arbitrary and lackadaisical manner of functioning and its brazen adoption of flimsy and shallowly constructed policies like the IPB sthat undermine the very rule of law. GFDO pointed out that the BJP had been quick to attack environmental, economic and social destruction caused by flawed policies when it was in opposition. It now needs to explain to the people why it is continuing to perpetuate the same flawed policies without analyzing, questioning or correcting them. How can the Government destroy the Mopa plateau and its 46 fresh water springs without doing any studies on its bio diversity and eco sensitivity as shown in studies conducted by environmentalists? On what basis did the WRD issue an NOC to the Mopa Airport developer to cut into the Goan farmers’ water resources by drawing 5 MLD water from Goa’s share of the Tillari Irrigation Project? GFDO lamented that not only were farmers, agriculturists and dhangars of Mopa being displaced and faced with loss of their way of life and livelihood, but innumerable other Goans also faced the same fate with the demolition of homes and other structures and filling of fields that would be required to construct the six lane highway and other infrastructure needed to provide connectivity to this strangely located Airport in the far north of Goa in an “unsafe and inadequate location” according to the Chairman of the Siting Committee himself. It is shocking that the large scale filling of fields and low lying lands, loss of retention areas and drainage channels and cutting of hills is being undertaken without any scientific data on its impact on the environment, ecology, groundwater and flood levels of the State. The Government should surely realize that it is highly unethical and reprehensible on its part to irresponsibly squander community resources and funds for a project of the magnitude of Mopa Airport with all its attendant implications for the State, without putting the Regional Plan in place first and before the issues raised in the three ongoing cases against it are resolved in Court. In a democracy, an elected government must address the issues raised by concerned citizens regarding massive projects involving vast tracts of community resources. However, although GFDO has made numerous attempts to debate and dialogue with the BJP government for three years now, it has been met with stony silence. The people of Goa are well aware that Mopa Airport is in reality a real estate scam in the making with 15 lakh square metres of land being gifted to the developer for pure real estate and commercial development at 2.5 FAR. It will be recalled that GFDO has made numerous representations to the Government and also written formally to the bidders cautioning them about the innumerable problems inherent in the unfeasible and destructive Mopa project. If the Parsekar Government is determined to play around with Goa’s community resources and if GMR has decided to plunge into this risky and unviable project, then the people of Goa will have no option but to stand firm in carrying on the long and bitter fight to its logical conclusion. After all, for Goa and its people, the stakes are much too high. Eremito Rebelo Siddarth Karapurkar
