Task Farce and Masked Force
Taking the electorate for a not-so-jolly ride!
By Miguel Braganza
The pot of rice for the staple Goan Xit-koddi, which was on slow fire since
the notification of 04 October, 2007, is finally coming to a boil.
Carona-Aldona residents and well-known couple, author Mrs. Maria Aurora
Couto and former Advisor to the Governor of Goa and chairman of Goa's State
Finance Commission, Mr. Alban Couto, as well as four other residents of
Aldona signed and submitted personally on Monday 07 April, 2008, a petition
to the Chief Town Planner of TCP Department and Chief Secretary of Goa
asking them to halt the hill cutting and wanton destruction of the
environment and social structure in the rural community of Aldona. The
authorities responded positively, as they usually do initially now a days.
Flash back. On 26 December, 2006, the Goa Bachao Abhiyan had held a
demonstration near the GRECL's "Aldeia de Goa" project at Bambolim, between
Goa University and Bambolim Beach Resort. The Additional Collector-North Goa
had issued a "Stop Work" order, vacated it , issued afresh and then it was
withdrawn via a "compromise" by the Advocate General of Goa state and the
lawyers of GRECL. The representatives of GBA were shell shocked to see this
'quietest interruptus' by the legal luminaries in an open court in what used
to be the Lyceum, not too far away from what Altinho was better known for
till IPHB went to Bambolim. This was a master stroke, like some professional
clay court tennis playing duo.
As per the notification in the Official Gazette on 26 February, 2008, the
Government had revised the date of the "Interim Report" of the Task Force on
Regional Plan from 15 December, 2007 to 15 March, 2008. Obviously the ninety
days were not enough and the change of mandate, converting architects into
draughtsmen, made the task worse for the town and country planners. Perhaps,
they ought to agitate like the "feni" manufacturers and bottlers'
association of Goa to replace the word "country" [as in country liquor] and
replace it with "white spirit". The TCP is surely acting like the phirang
rulers over the native people, changing the rules to suit the rich and rob
the poor. They now want to make the nterim report public after the Statehood
Day and closer to the Mrig Nakshatra, the herald of the rains, to forestall
any agitation. There is still a month left for us.
The work on the Aldona site has been stopped as it was illegal [and a
cognizable offence with imprisonment up to one year and/or fine up to
Rs.1,00,000/-] to cut the hill without specific written permission of the
CTP as per Sections 17-A and B specially inserted in 1992 to give teeth to
the TCP Act, 1974. It was not stopped because of Mr. Alban Couto, though his
participation speeded the process like no one else could. As in the case of
"Aldeia de Goa", the wheels of the "well-oiled" system are churning,
spreading disinformation and mobilizing support with the immense money power
that defines the Real Estate business. In the case of the Bambolim project
the 33 percent slope has disappeared and is replaced by an average slope as
GRECL could afford to buy a large property and a few people as well.
The Aldonkars have not rested with a petition signed by half a dozen
persons. The petition has been slightly modified to include some information
that has since become available [and translated in to Konkani and Marathi
for easy understanding by the potential signatories, in Aldona village to
begin with] and has received almost a thousand signatures already in ink.
Poignant scenes that exemplified the campaign included an elderly lady who
wanted to sign but was not literate to do it. She affixed her "left hand
thumb impression" using ink from a old fashioned "fountain pen" as no 'ink
pad' was readily available. Each one does what he or she can ....for Goa's
sake!!
There have been a lot of Aldonkars and concerned citizens from other places
enquiring how they can help fight the anti-people "development" that is
threatening and destroying Goa. To serve this constituency of those who are
not currently resident in Aldona/Goa, an online petition hosted at
http://www.petitiononline.com/SaveGoa/petition.html The petition is
available in Konkani [in Roman script] at the netgroup
[EMAIL PROTECTED] . The website of the Aldona Bachao Abhiyan is
under construction .This is the cyberage, after all.
The Aldona Bachao Abhiyan (ABA) core group met at Carona in mid- April and
called on the authorities to prevent the breach of law while granting
construction licenses as there have been reports that tenanted Communidade
land is being sold by the tenants in connivance with some of the members of
the Communidades in different villages. As per the Agricultural Tenancy Act,
no tenanted agricultural field can be converted for non-agricultural purpose
such as housing. Two applications for inspection of files under the Right to
Information Act have already been made to the Aldona panchayat by the
secretary of the ABA, Ms Charmaine De Souza while the application at the TCP
has been made by Co-Convenor, Mr Milton Fernandes. More applications will
follow.
The ABA has dug up the words of Frederick Douglass as a theme "Those who
profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want rain
without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the roar of its
many waters...Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did .......
and it never will." Well, the rain is still some time away. There is time to
hear the roar of the sea, tremble at the thunder and see the lightning of
the people on the move. Power concedes nothing without demand. How true? Let
us make it concede to the people of Goa, the Aam Admi. (ENDS)
The Miguel Braganza weekly column at:
http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=482
==============================================================================
The above article appeared in the April 18, 2008 edition of the Gomantak
Times, Goa
