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Convenor of Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) Dr Oscar Rebello has been nominated
for CNN-IBN's Indian of the Year Award 2007 in public service category
Vote for him at:
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Sachin Phadte.
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INDIA Goa Scraps Controversial Development Plan Following Church-led Campaign
ID04212.1479 January 11, 2007 62 EM-lines (683 words)
PANAJI, India (UCAN) -- The Goa state government has dropped a controversial
land development plan following a Church-led campaign.
State Chief Minster Digambar Kamat wrote to the federal government saying the
planned 15 special economic zones (SEZs) in villages across Goa were untenable
and should be scrapped, local media reported on Dec. 31.
Media and observers say Kamat was in favor of the SEZs until he met Church
leaders after Christmas, including at a Christmas party on Dec. 28.
Kamat, members of his Cabinet and top ranking government officials attended the
party that Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao of Goa and Daman hosted at his
residence in Panaji, Goa's capital, 1,910 kilometers southwest of New Delhi.
Members of the opposition, superiors of Religious congregations and lay
collaborators also were among the prelate's guests.
A Church source told UCA News that during the party, the archbishop told the
politicians the government often finds itself in the "delicate situation" of
differentiating between contentious opponents and genuine "truth workers." The
Church, he assured them, involves itself in civic matters not for political
reasons but to ensure peace in society and development for the poor.
Archbishop Ferrao also reportedly assured government leaders the Church would
be glad to collaborate in building a supportive society. "In all that we do and
say, we are, in truth, trying to be of genuine help," the source quoted him as
saying.
Earlier that day, Kamat invited representatives of Goa archdiocese's Council
for Social Justice and Peace, which initiated Church protests against the SEZs,
to a meeting. He pledged he would respect the people's wishes, Father Maverick
Fernandes, the council's executive secretary, told UCA News.
Father Fernandes described the chief minister's decision as the "delivery of
justice to the rightful demand of the people." He said the Church always
insists that the human person be the "center and focus of development," since
when the focus shifts away from this, "it is a conspiracy to make profits."
Kamat's dialogue with the archbishop actually began a day after Christmas, when
the chief minister called on Archbishop Ferrao at his residence. Local media
interpreted the visit as an offer for a government-Church truce. The front page
of many local papers carried a photograph of the meeting.
People in India's smallest state, with only 1.3 million people, have been
protesting the SEZs despite promises of more than 1 million new jobs.
Protesters feared an influx of people from outside the state would corrupt
their culture and marginalize local people. They also pointed out that the
unbridled use of land and natural resources for SEZs would adversely affect
Goa's farms, ecology and the environment.
The state government is now seeking to get the federal government to scrap the
project entirely and to "de-notify," or withdraw permission for, the three SEZs
already started. The state has argued it cannot provide water and electricity
for the SEZs, media reported.
"The speed at which Kamat has backtracked on SEZs was amazing," said a Jan. 9
report in The Indian Express, a daily newspaper, which added that Kamat did not
consult with land developers or the federal government before making the
decision.
Catholics who led the campaign against SEZs welcomed the decision.
Joaquim Gracias said the archbishop "used a great deal of his address" at the
Dec. 28 meeting "to emphasis the need to respect the needs and aspirations of
the common man."
Nonetheless, Mathany Saldanha, who led Goa's Movement Against SEZs, and others
told UCA News they will be active until all development activities regarding
SEZs stop. But he acknowledged they were "happy that the government has
respected the demand of the people."
Malisa Simoes, convener of Youth for Goa, agreed it "will not be party time"
until developers move out of the three SEZs where work has begun. Until then,
"we will wait and watch," she added.
Christians, mostly Catholics, form 27 percent of Goa's population and play
decisive roles in sociopolitical affairs. The state was a Portuguese colony
from 1510 until India liberated it in 1961. Goan culture often is associated
with a Catholic lifestyle inherited from the Portuguese.
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