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The Rape of Goa - A photo documentary by Rajan P. Parrikar Venue: Menezes Braganza Art Gallery, Panjim, May 21-24, 2008 http://www.parrikar.org/misc/doc-notice.pdf --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just some thoughts and observations to mull over: A) Please don't think that because people are attending public meetings it is a vote on curtailing residential land development. Far from it, for every one person that attends a meeting in Goa, there will be two secretly making preparations to sell their land. B) What is happening in Goa today is not happening in a vacuum. It is part of a global trend and happening in almost every part of the world. The reasons are two fold. One is the increase in population, while land supply remains a constant. The second, and more important reason is the expansion of the middle-class sector which puts pressure on the housing market. Even if land sale were prohibited to foreigners, it would not in anyway depress prices. A burgeoning Indian middle-class and a Goan middle-class will continue to buy residential land and flats, either as investors or as occupants. C. The Goan middle-class is not tied to the land as even a generation ago were. They are mobile and prefer to stay closer to their place of work. In the years to come, we have to prepare not just for non-Goans moving into Goa but for an even greater number of Goans moving to the cities of Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi. Land will be bought and land will be sold, its a constant cycle. As Panjim grows from a township into a small city, as more office sprint up in this area, land prices and residential land development around the Panjim area will continue to soar. We have to accept this and accommodate for in a very carefully planned exercise, taking into account commuter needs, open spaces, schools and health-care. D. Ideally land development, especially in the case of a small state like Goa, must come under the purview of an overall Planning Office. Power can be devolved to the Panchayats to institute the directives of the office but not to create or repeal directives. This office in consultation with local bodies must ensure through set guidelines and zoning laws: i) Ecological protection for our hillocks, coastal areas, paddy fields, low-lying areas, forest land, lakes, rivers and marsh land. ii) Conservation and preservation of the "character of the Goan village". iii)Conservation of the architectural integrity of city-buildings, monuments, Churches, temples and other heritage buildings. iv) Allottment of land for residential development. Residential development such as housing complexes, flats, low-cost sector housing is a reality of the 21st century. It cannot be subdued into submission. It can be cleverly managed by putting land to its most efficient use. v) All red-tape required to obtain planning permissions but be scarped. This is only a ruse for bribery and corruption. Make it as transparent and straightforward as possible. Under the right to information act, make blue-prints of housing plans, information on zoning sectors, compliance with ecological standards, everything available on the net for the citizen to (a)comply with (b) report infringment. Please don't rely on the goodness of people to not sell their land to non-goans, developers, foreigners or anyone else currently persona non gratta in Goa. The truth is these are cold-hearted decisions made in light of that one basic necessity we all have - money. selma