*GOA BACHAO ABHIYAN* *goabachaoabhi...@gmail.com <goabachaoabhi...@gmail.com>*
The GBA objects to the latest gazetted land grab - Land conversion simply through departmental inaction. As part of the quickening series of attacks on the environment and established constitutional structures of governance, the new single page notification of 3rd November under the Department of Revenue promises the rights to conversion with the Collectors without the need for departmental Reports/NOC’s/Recommendations, if they are not received within 20 days from date of reference made by the Collector. The decision will be based on 'available information', which is a contradiction in itself as each department is the repository of information, hence the required check-ins. *# Any such action by a single department or individual is speculative, has far reaching consequences, and such action without requisite information is terribly wrong. * Departments plead understaffing and overwork regularly, often unable or unwilling to provide information on time as part of their standard operating procedure. Such a rule will embolden all departments into inaction with no responsibility. *# With no penalty on the departments for wilful delay of Reports/NOC’s/Recommendations the danger of haphazard and wrongful conversion is real and such action will become the norm to the detriment of planned development of Goa.* *# This will also focus inordinate power and corruption at a single point, an extremely ill advised move in a country struggling with runaway graft.* This rule undermines existing structures of the Constitution along with the authority of concerned departments and directs damage from an inefficient bureaucracy to destruction of Goa. The GBA demands that this underhand notification be stopped and penalties be levied on the departments for every week delay in providing the necessary information beyond 30 days in the name of enforcing efficiency instead. Sabina Martins - Convenor Reboni Saha - Secretary
