At the symposium "Building A Better Goa" organised jointly by Goa Sudharop (GS) and Council for Social Justice and Peace (CSJP) held on May 24 at Caritas Hall, Panaji, eminent citizens and committed social activists elaborated on solutions to meet the huge challenges that Goa faces. GS volunteer, Carmen Martins, who compered the function, spoke of how Goa is today imperiled and that rather than merely dressing the surface wounds, we need to look deeper to heal those wounds.
In his welcome address, Ibonio D'Souza, Goa Sudharop's local representative, said that the purpose of the symposium was to focus attention on the mounting popular resistance across Goan villages to unplanned mega projects, mining operations and other destructive schemes. Explaining that this awakening is the result of the hard work of many courageous Niz Goenkars, Mr. D'Souza said that rather than fritter away this golden opportunity, we also have a responsibility to educate, inspire, sustain and guide the movement to achieve its desired goals. Moderating the session, Averthanus D'Souza of the CSJP explained that we citizens need to "share our ideas, feelings and convictions". He touched upon the growing groundswell of action seen today where citizens in "village after village and Gram Sabha after Gram Sabha are demanding their rights to be heard and the right to determine their own future". In his talk on the Right to Information Act (RTI) and filing of Public Interest Litigation's (PIL's), Engr. Rajan Parrikar shared his experiences with the audience, stating that with the type of resources that Panaji city has, its citizens could enjoy a quality of life equivalent to world class standards. Instead, the city is today in a state of decay. He explained how, upon his return from abroad, he was rather disturbed that Panaji was becoming almost an "outdoor toilet". Citing instances of open-air defecation and urination especially along the Campal promenade, as well as gambling and encroachment of public spaces like the Panaji Municipal garden by vagrants, he spoke of how after exhausting all avenues, he finally wrote to the courts enclosing some photographs. His letter was converted into a PIL, and following some hearings, an order has recently been issued appointing an enforcement squad to prevent such happenings. Further, describing the basic format of an RTI application, he explained how he had used the RTI to obtain details of several suspect construction sites, on going through which the prima facie evidence seemed to suggest fraud on a massive scale. He said that more of the citizenry should raise their voices and that what is absolutely necessary now is a wellspring of people's movement and a freeze on all constructions. He also explained how we need to be continually vigilant since our so-called representatives are in the habit of waiting for the storm to subside and then going back to their old ways. Social activist Pravin Sabnis spoke on the topic "Mobilizing People's Power", explaining that people's movements generally start when people realise that the problems have reached their own doorstep. When people with different competencies participate and when there is solidarity across the table with people working together as a team, People's Power becomes far more effective. Mr. Sabnis also touched upon other important aspects like public meetings and support, audio-visual presentations, effective slogans, use of available technology, direct contact with village groups, women power, and media collaboration. Ending his presentation with a powerful visual, he likened Goa to a beautiful deer that is being attacked by a canine or a leopard, saying that it is for us the people to outrun that leopard and save the deer that is our own Goa. Speaking on the "Winds of change across Goa's villages", Patricia Pinto shared her personal experiences and said that the present uprising seen all over is a positive sign and that apart from the RTI, the best thing to have happened to Goa was the Regional Plan 2011 when people realised what was happening. She explained how the decline had started way back around 1988, though hardly any one was aware then of what was going on. Fortunately a small spark was kindled in the form of a few people who after realising what was going on, decided to do something about it, else Goa would have been slowly and silently destroyed. In a rejoinder to the Chief Minister's recent remarks that "People should not oppose legally approved projects" Patricia, citing a couple of examples of questionable ongoing projects, asked "Are all these projects approved properly or are they illegally illegal?" She ended by saying that "the bubble has now burst" and that we need to come out onto the streets till we are sure that the government is going to govern properly. Soter D'Souza, a committed activist with first hand in-depth knowledge of panchayat functioning, delivered a forceful and effective talk on the "Panchayati Raj and the role of Gram Sabhas", saying that Panchayati Raj is all about equitable and sustainable development, which involves a mutual respect and sharing between villages. Elucidating further on the different schedules and amendments, he said that the "entire democracy in the country changed in 1992 with the passing of the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments. Although 15 years later, local bodies continue to be strangulated by opportunistic, political and economic forces, fortunately, they just refuse to let go". Talking of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act, Mr. D'Souza said that "over the last 15 years the Government has very cunningly kept certain powers away from the people" and that the outdated TCP Act has been the cause of a lot of the present problems. The TCP Act was formulated in 1975, much before the amendments came into being. This same TCP Act is still being implemented without incorporating the amendments, and this is being exploited to the maximum possible by the real estate brigade. However, the growing restlessness seen during the past 2-3 years in the villages has disturbed our politicians, builders and other vested interests. Builders have even termed this uprising as an anarchy, but all this is surely a ray of hope for the future. A lively question-answer session followed, when several members of the audience asked questions and requested clarifications especially regarding problems being faced by them on related issues. The discussions were then summarised by Mr. Averthanus D'Souza, who also said that we need to get rid of political interference in the functioning of our Government departments, remove dysfunctional bodies and that the people need to be consulted before major decisions are taken. Proposing the Vote of Thanks, Fr. Maverick of the CSJP also informed about a forthcoming meeting at Calangute, adding that our struggles should not be in isolation, but that we need to be united and show solidarity in our bid to preserve our land.
