Brutal. In my sad opinion, Goa is truly being regarded as a Conquest. Venantius
On Fri, Dec 4, 2020 at 7:15 AM V M <vmin...@gmail.com> wrote: > > https://www.livemint.com/news/india/inside-the-race-to-save-mollem/amp-11607008178992.html > > On 7 April and again on 15 April, even as “the world’s strictest > lockdown" shuttered India behind closed doors, the National Board for > Wildlife proceeded with two highly consequential meetings via > videoconferencing at the direction of the Union environment minister > Prakash Javadekar (he also holds the seemingly contradictory portfolio > for heavy industries). > > This is how—while their fellow citizens were distracted by > pandemic-related anxieties—the board’s standing committee, and then > its expert appraisal committee, successively rubberstamped approvals > for an astonishing 16 proposals impinging on ostensibly sacrosanct > national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. They comprise an ominous > litany of destruction: stone mining in Kota; railways through a tiger > corridor in Telangana; roadworks in the Gangotri national park in > Uttarakhand. > > The biggest loser was India’s smallest state. Goa woke up to find that > there were now three projects targeting its Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife > Sanctuary and Mollem National Park, which spills across 240 square > kilometres up the Western Ghats. In December 2019, Javadekar’s board > had accepted a proposal to double the existing railway track through > the jungle. Now, it piled on an additional four-lane highway > expansion, as well as a 400KV electricity transmission line. > > The treble threat targets 250 hectares of old-growth forests, > including some 60,000 trees, all of which are integral to one of only > 36 surviving biodiversity hotspots in the world. They are home to > tigers and gaur, and at least 70 other species of mammals, as well as > 235 species of birds. This is the watershed of Goa, as well as the > ultimate guarantor of its food security. At a time when the entire > world is paralyzed by a zoonotic virus, which passed from animals to > humans due to habitat destruction, the move quickly galvanized > resistance in Goa that has steadily mushroomed towards the national > and international arenas. > > “This is an extraordinary state in more ways than one" wrote justice > Gautam Patel of the Bombay High Court’s bench in Panjim in 2017 in his > landmark judgement against moving the western zone of the National > Green Tribunal from Pune to New Delhi. He noted, “If the NGT has so > very many cases from Goa, it is not because—or not just because—the > people of Goa are litigious. It is because they perceive that there is > something of value here to protect… For this is something none can > deny: This is a land truly worth fighting for." > > It is certainly true that Goa has seen many strong environmental > movements over recent decades: The rejection of Thapar DuPont’s Nylon > 6.6 plant in the 1990s; the cancellation of special economic zones in > 2007; and the scrapping of the 2011 regional plan. But what has > happened in the case of Mollem—as covid-19 raged unabated in Goa—is > nonetheless entirely unprecedented. > > Right through the height of the pandemic which kept most of their > parents’ generation pre-occupied, an emergent wave of millennials put > together an astonishingly agile and resilient campaign to raise > awareness about what’s at stake, and directly combat the three Mollem > projects. Over the past few weeks and months, protestors have held > all-night vigils, art competitions and even blocked railway lines in > an unfolding saga of new age environmental activism. Their sheer > vitality, and host of innovative strategies spanning the public sphere > and social media, has thoroughly shaken the state government, and > drawn huge attention. > > “A campaign of this nature has been a long time coming," says > 28-year-old Gabriella D’Cruz, one of the members of the core group of > the #SaveMollem movement. She told me her decision to study > biodiversity conservation and management at Oxford (where she > completed her MA in 2018) had been motivated by her experiences in > Goa, where “young people have grown up being witness to flawed policy > decisions that have destroyed large sections of our precious natural > heritage for many years." > > D’Cruz said, “I used to feel an immense sense of helplessness when I > heard about various environmentally destructive projects being passed > by the government, and a lot of my friends felt the same way. The > success of our campaign is that we are able to transform our > collective feelings of helplessness and anger, along with our > individual capacities, into a powerful force for good. I really > believe this is the start of a series of youth-led movements that will > come. As young people, we see this campaign as an investment of our > time and energy in our collective future." > > Save Mollem began its work soon after the monsoons started pounding in > June. The initial core group included D’Cruz, the artists Svabhu Kohli > and Trisha Dias Sabir, and 34-year-old Dr.Nandini Velho, one of > India’s most distinguished young wildlife biologists, who has > extensive experience overseeing Pakke Tiger Reserve and Eaglenest > Wildlife Sanctuary in the Himalayan foothills of Arunachal Pradesh. > > From the group’s inception, they worked in unexpected ways: > foregrounding art right alongside science, generating floods of memes > for Twitter and Instagram, and building an enduring coalition with > other young people across the subcontinent and the world. > > They distinguished themselves by enlisting support from an > astonishingly wide range of constituent groups. On their behalf on 18 > June, 18 scientists wrote to Javadekar that “when public sector > decision makers overlook the connection between healthy ecosystems and > the well-being of people, ecosystem service trade-offs are made. The > enhancement of some services leads to the degradation of others. This > can have unintended consequences for people who depend on degraded > services. Should an economic evaluation of all these ecosystem > services be conducted in detail, it would far outweigh the value and > benefits of the three proposed projects". > > 427 medical and nursing students followed up on 9 July, saying, “such > rampant forest clearances will disturb the fragile ecosystem balance, > with consequences including the increase in our chances of being > exposed to novel agents of many diseases that are present." On 28 > July, it was the turn of 159 representatives from the tourism > industry, who argued, “With these projects creating deforestation in > the area, future development of hinterland tourism will be adversely > affected, which directly opposes the state’s 25-year vision to revamp > the economy. The current community-based tourism initiatives will also > be destroyed, damaging the local economy and muting any opportunity to > make Goa a global leader in sustainable tourism." > > On 1 August, in poetic language, 249 artists further added their > voice. “We have gathered in unprecedented numbers, across all ages, to > voice our concerns as a single community and to speak against these > destructive projects and for the protection of the innumerable species > whose habitats and lives they threaten, as well as our own…Goa is a > practicing zone for us, and to strike a blow to our natural heritage > is to attack the wellspring of our creativity." They concluded, “The > future of our home state is bleak if we don’t pay close attention to > protection of the environment, its forests and rivers" and attached a > set of paintings and drawings to further their case. > > As might be expected, all this thoroughly confused and disoriented the > state administration, which found itself comprehensively > outmanoeuvred. Soon after the letters reached Javadekar, the chief > minister Pramod Sawant began complaining. “The opposition to these > projects is coming from Africa, England and Russia. Those who have not > seen Goa and Mollem are now commenting about it from foreign > countries," he said. His power minister Nilesh Cabral railed that the > protestors should “first start using solar power". > > But neither of them would come clean on what actually motivates their > stubborn refusal to back off on cleaving Mollem for massively expanded > roads, rails and power transmission, which is the fact these projects > are intended to serve the interests of JSW Steel, Vedanta and the > Adani Group. All three have an inexhaustible demand for coal for steel > and power plants across the Deccan plateau, which are markedly cheaper > to reach from Goa instead of Mangalore or any east coast option. This > means that the young activists of Save Mollem aren’t just facing off > against their small state’s hapless government. They’re actually > contesting against the most powerful and influential special interests > in India. > > “They (young people) have done such an impressive job," says Prerna > Singh Bindra, the acclaimed environmental journalist and author, who > served on the National Board for Wildlife from 2010-13. She said, > “It’s remarkable how they brought in so many different fields to > underline how important our forests are to everyone. I have been blown > away by the art. It inspires and tears you up, but right alongside is > the excellent science; the lawyers speaking up about subversion of > procedures; the tourism industry pointing out damage to their > interests; farmers and fishermen worried about their livelihood; the > students and the whole question of intergenerational equity. I am > very, very inspired by this campaign. It gives me hope." > > That message was reiterated by Norma Alvares, the Padma Shri > award-winning advocate whose Goa Foundation has been the doughtiest > fighter for Goa’s environment for over four decades. I contacted her > after several of the young activists I was interviewing told me she > was their role model, to which Alvares responded, “I am pleased beyond > words that this movement is being led by young women activists—a > splendid group who have fully dedicated themselves to the cause of > protecting the forest and wildlife of Goa and have further extended > the fight to preventing Goa from being blackened by coal." > > Alvares said, “If the many years that I have given to fighting public > causes have persuaded at least some of the next generation of women to > stand up; to decide that it is absolutely imperative to give one’s > time and effort if we want Goa to remain as beautiful as we know it to > be, then that brings me true happiness. Causes will come and go. You > may win some and be not so successful with others. But there is no > greater sense of achievement for an activist than to know there are > others who are ready to take the baton onward. Not just onward, but > forward and higher than our generation could have dreamt of." > > The 67-year-old added, “It’s an unprecedented reversal of roles. > Usually, it’s the parents who guide their children, but in this case, > the cause was first taken up by these youngsters, barely out of > college—and they continue to lead the struggle with determination and > with verve. No government can afford to ignore, at its own peril, such > a powerful protest. Governments have devious ways of breaking up a > movement and so our young friends must be ever vigilant and watchful > [but] they can’t lose. This planet belongs to them. The future is > already here." > > That conclusion seems to have filtered deep into the collective > consciousness of the Save Mollem movement. When I asked D’Cruz what it > would mean to her if the three projects wound up going ahead despite > her team’s efforts, she told me, “Losing the battle would definitely > not be a failure of the campaign, but instead just a clear indication > that we are up against a very corrupt system. The strength of our team > effort is that it is young, and, therefore, has tremendous promise for > the future. We know that the fight for Mollem is an indicator of the > larger fight we will continue to face, not of a development vs > environment paradigm, but the need for good policy triumphing over > bad." > > D’Cruz told me of a recent transcendent experience, “a moment that > gave me goosebumps, when I was protesting along with more than fifty > other young people at the steps of the Panjim church. It felt like > carnival, with dancing in the streets and cars honking in support. We > ended by singing the national anthem. Traffic stopped, people stood > still, and all one could hear was our collective voices. I was > reminded that we are not anti-nationals, dissenters, rebels or > outsiders. We are actually the ones that care deeply for our country, > and are willing to put in the work to make sure we safeguard it." >