* The Davids of Tiracol have finally seen ‘ land’ in their ‘ Leading’ battle with Goliath*
*By Sujay Gupta* *The narrative which is played out against the villagers of Tiracol and Goa Foundation, which is backing it, is that they are anti development. But who is this development for? And is anybody making a case that a private project, which claims to employ locals should not be allowed in the state of Goa?* W hen the passionate struggle ends in a first stage victory against many surmounting odds, the heat of struggle gives way to quiet reflections. The soft smiles return in the glow of a long gone winter, with the previous summers of discontent in the beautiful village of Tiracol, giving way to the summer of hope. After all not very often, do the Davids win against the Goliaths in real life, which is why myths and folk lore are so popular. The fight of the Tiracol villagers, challenging the manner in which their lands were ‘ bought’ by Leading Hotels for their Rs 1300 crore and rising, Golf Course and Villa project, has ended in their first sighting of “ land” ( hope) after years in a sea of hopelessness. The High Court has held all sanads in abeyance and the tenancy free certificates, the handle used by Leading Hotels to buy almost 13 lakh square metres of land. This has taken the entire argument back to fundamentals. The fundamental in just one question or sentence is this: Is the Tiracol Golf Course and Villa project, being built on land which could have been legally bought? If the final answer to this is negative then this project has no legal sanctity. The High Court order has narrowed down a series of complex arguments into one fundamental point. And that itself is a victory. The attempt to justify the land as barren, uncultivable and not cultivated has finally been nullified because all that matters is if the land was tenanted and if an answer to that is affirmative, then all other desperate justifications to pass off this sale of the entire village, really hold no water. Deputy Collector Agnelo Fernandes, will decide if each parcel of land was tenanted or not since 2/ 11/ 1990, the cut off date for the provisions of the Goa Land Use Act to come into force. To understand the context of this we need to note three significant years when land related legislations were made in Goa. The 1964 Tenancy Act, The 1976 Land to the Tiller Act and the 1991, Goa Land Use ( Regulation) Act. While the Tenancy Act recognised tenancy, the Land to the Tiller Act recognised the tiller ( tenant) as the DEEMED owner of the land. But the landmark legislation that was the Goa Land Use Act, which states “ No land vested in a tenant under the provisions of the Goa Daman & Diu Agricultural Tenancy Act shall be used or allowed to be used for any purpose other than agriculture”. The deputy collector will look at the status of each land to see if they fell under the provisions of the Agricultural Tenancy Act or not and if so then the provisions of the Goa Land use ( Regulation ) Act would come into force which prohibit use for any other purpose. One would assume that construction of a Golf Course and Villas is not an agricultural activity. But let’s wait and see how this plays out. The challenge to the project by the St Anthony’s Tenant and Mundkars Association ( SATMA) hinges on this. The High Court had in July 2015 granted an interim stay on the project, while allowing the developers – Leading Hotels – to construct two model villas in an area of around 700 sq mtrs. The petitioners had filed a fresh PIL in July 2015 to the December 2014 PIL against the project. The petition was based on what they claim to be fraudulent change of land from agricultural to non- agricultural land. The December 2014 petition filed by St Anthony Mundkar and Tenants Association sought the resolution of tenancy matters and called for a stop to the work on the project. Following the petition, the Government had appointed a one man Inquiry Commission headed by Sandip Jacques to study whether the land, acquired for the project, was tenanted. The Commission submitted its report in favour of the tenants and found that the land was agricultural and recommended a judicial inquiry to ascertain if it was tenanted. Sandeep Jacques’ report, in May, 2016, an honest piece of work, was scrapped by the government when the findings of the report stated that the tenants had their names listed on the Form I & XIV; and if the legal challenge was upheld it would render the sale of the land illegal. The report confirmed that crops were cultivated in the area which was affirmed by periodic surveys of the particular types of crops grown in the area, conducted under the supervision of the office of the Mamlatdar. In 2009, crop compensation was paid to the farmers, proving the existence of agricultural land in the village. The Goa Foundation, the principal backer of the people’s movement against Leading Hotels, reacted, on its website, to the company’s, and even the government’s, claim that the land in Tiracol was barren. Goa Foundation stated and we quote, from this statement which is still in public domain, “ Though expensive full page advertisements have been issued by Leading Hotels in some Goan papers claiming the lands acquired by the project owners are “ barren”, the Environment Impact Assessment report prepared by the company’s own consultants list a total of 19,000 plus plants and trees on the property. The report also indicates that a total of 1966 trees will be felled for the project. How then does the land in question become “ barren”? In one survey number alone ( No. 4/ 1), the Forest Department of Goa has granted permission to Leading Hotels to cut 155 trees”. Meanwhile, as Herald has consistently reported, while the status of the land is the primary issue, that is not the only area where this project appears to be plagued. The CEO of Leading Hotels, in an interview to a national daily in September 2015, said, “ There are some roadblocks created by some people who are aware that they cannot challenge our approvals on technical grounds. But it is in their pesha ( profession) to challenge development”. Well, the ‘ challenge’ obviously has grounds. Those reading this column can decide for themselves, if the following falls in the realm mere “ technical grounds”. The High Court meanwhile has “ kept in abeyance” all NOCs issued for the project. In April 2013, the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority ( EIAA) had granted environment clearance ( EC) for setting up an 18- hole PGA, golf course and eco tourism resort at Tiracol. In June, the pollution board granted consent to operate and in December 2012, CRZ clearance was obtained for the project. In Nov 2016 the National Green Tribunal kept in abeyance the Environmental Clearance granted to Leading Hotels and directed them to get a fresh environmental clearance from the State Expert Appraisal Committee ( SEAC) as well as the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority ( SEIAA). Both these bodies come under the supervision of the Department of Environment and Forests of the Goa Government. Petitioner Goa Foundation’s stand in the NGT was that the SEAC had never recommended the project for Environmental Clearance. It had instead recommended that the Central government must consider the grant of EC for the project. However, after the last meeting of the SEAC, the Chairman and Member Secretary of the SEAC, on their own, on April 10, 2014, made a recommendation to the SEIAA that SEAC had recommended the project. This was contrary to the actual recommendation of the SEAC which was that the central government should consider the project. There are no minutes of the SEAC on record which certify the recommendation made by the then Chairman and Secretary of the SEAC, Dr S P Fondekar and Dr Mohan R Girap, respectively. Two days later the SEIAA granted the environment clearance. This was challenged and the petitioners alleged fraud in the project. Significantly, the minutes of the meeting of the SEIAA which decided to grant the EC, were confirmed on April 15, three days after the EC was given. Significantly, the term of the SEIAA got over on April 14, 2014. Therefore, the minutes were confirmed on a day when the SEIAA body was not even in existence. The narrative which is played out against the villagers of Tiracol and Goa Foundation, which is backing it, is that they are anti development. But who is this development for? And is anybody making a case that a private project, which claims to employ locals should not be allowed in the state of Goa? The pivot around which the opposition spins ( and recognised by the High Court) is that the project’s construction stands on a foundation which may not be legal and the High Court indeed has kept in abeyance tenancy free certificates and NOC’s. Leading Hotels has ambitious plans and they have every right to and cannot be denied under the laws of the land. Quoting from the same interview of its CEO to a National daily ( as referenced earlier), “ We have currently invested 270 crore. Our total budget is a shade under 1,300 crore. We will be competing with places like Seychelles, Punta Mita in Mexico, Hawaii, Nevis and Bali. The state will gain 25 crore per annum. Additionally, we will pay 8% stamp duty collection of roughly 62 crore”. This is fine, though if Leading Hotels came under the purview of RTI, ( which it does not), one would be tempted to file one asking for the break- up of the Rs 270 crore which have been spent ( invested), as of 2016. This is not a call to shut the project down. Far from it. All that the Goa government has got to do is to prove that the land of the local people, on which these dreams and castles are being built, could have been sold for this project. End of argument. End of story. FLY ON THE WALL Sujay Gupta Sujay Gupta is Group Editor, Herald Group and tweets@ sujaygupta0832 Feedback: editor@ herald- goa. com
