Migration impact on Goan demography
Migrants have become a significant contender in Goa’s socio-economic scenario. They can be loosely classified into the poverty-stricken immigrant and their affluent counterparts. The poor form the majority of the non-Goans that are found begging and loitering in the streets, over-crowding the local buses, living in the slums and generally promoting the anti-outsider sentiment. The rich non-Goans are indiscriminately buying up property all over Goa and fuelling the real-estate and construction boom, thus making the niz Goenkar unable to afford new housing options. It is opined that around 40% of Goa's population today is made up of migrants. Despite native Goans having a relatively low birth rate, Goa's population as tripled since liberation four decades ago precisely because of migrants. The migrant slums have ceased to be a mere eyesore anymore; instead they have become a downright repulsive sight. These encroachments on public and comunidade properties by unscrupulous elements are a cause of concern for both the locals and civic authorities. The increasing number slums have led to a corresponding rise in the crime graph over the last few months. The overt political patronage and powerful slum lords mean that these areas have been out of bounds to the local police authorities. The recent demolitions are just eyewash with only fringe areas being targeted. The slum fiefdoms that form the majority vote-bank to our political punters are largely left alone. The migrants are made to shell out advanced rents for up to 6 months for every squalid structure, a system very similar to that adopted by the infamous Dharavi slums in Mumbai. The authorities, through political coercion are quick to offer ration cards to the newcomers in exchange of the promised votes. The ration card acts as a precursor to obtain further legal documents ensuring their unhindered stay here. Interestingly the municipal authorities hold no record of the number of people living in the slums, even though official documents like the ration card are distributed liberally. Migrant slums put considerable strain on the infrastructure through fraudulent procurement of water and electricity supply. These areas are potential health hazards owing to lack of sanitation. Thus poor migrant non-Goans, being an unofficial resident of the state, have no obligation to pay taxes. Effectively it is 60% of the Goan taxpayer who's pay for the almost 25% migrant poor. The indiscriminate rise in numbers is due to the greed of labor contractors. Contractors bring in a group of migrants workers for one of those rampant real-estate mega-housing projects. These builders are supposed to provide facilities like water, housing, toilets and crèches conveniently forget to do so putting the newcomers in a vulnerable position. Here the enterprising politicians enter the scene, providing a dwelling in slums and a ration card for subsidized food in exchange for a vote. As the project proceeds, they realize that the higher wages, peaceful people and ration cards mean a better life for their kith and kin, who are then promptly summoned. After the project is over they become a liability as the contractors scour the Indian hinterland for a new cheaper labor force. They then get involved in petty trade through illegal shops or work as daily wage laborers. They however are trying their best to melt into the local population. After being generally perceived as rude and untrustworthy you wonder what they are doing to integrate. Well believe it or not, there has been a spate of changes in individual migrant names to reflect local nomenclature. Also the registrations of new births in slums have seen many children given typical Goan names like Pedro, Santan, Bostao, Joao etc. However honest their intentions may seem, the underlying ulterior motive is to avail of schemes of the state government, which are meant for the traditional Goan SC, ST and OBC’s. There is little doubt that Goa needs the daily-wage migrants as they constitute a sizeable segment of the labor force in public as well as private sectors. They form the backbone of the construction, agriculture and fishing industries as the natives are not interested in low-paying jobs. There is an uneasy unrest among the migrant communities over the daily wage rate with people from poverty-stricken states willing to work for lower wages and competition with increasing immigration. This being said, politicians not having their own migrant vote-banks indulge in migrant bashing to appeal to the middle class voters and act as a diversion from real issues like mining, healthcare, garbage disposal and mega housing projects. Goa’s rich and varied landscape from the beaches to the ecologically rich Western Ghats coupled with our unique cultural heritage has made us a hotspot in the tourism scene. For many years we have played good hosts to guests from all over the country and the world. Now however it seems as if the guests have overstayed their welcome. They are haphazardly buying the lands nurtured by our ancestors. The large concrete structures are giving Goan villages a soulless cosmopolitan guise. Goa’s land and its resources are up for grabs to the highest bidder. The investments in local properties by dubious Indian rich and political bigwigs have escalated the land prices. Now people earning local salaries find it difficult to purchase a house. We are effectively selling our homes to outsiders and left with nowhere to go. The more wealthy non-Goans hold many posts in the education sector. They also have a sizeable presence in bureaucratic and government departments. Their presence in the latter are attributed to their ability to pay heavy bribes to the ministers who appoint them. This stinging truth about our government is the reason Goa is ranked as one of the most corrupt states in India. Since the Indian constitution guarantees the right of free movement, it can be argued that migration is inevitable. However a look at the current demographic situation in Goa will make you think otherwise. This is the reason we demand a law for special status to Goa so that land will no longer be sold to non-Goans. Goans are unhappy with a prevalent sense of a superiority complex amongst these non-Goans who believe that we cannot do without their help. Let us resolve to minimize our dealings with these migrants, not unlike the non-cooperation movement popularized by the father of our nation Mahatma Gandhi. While it is economically feasible to invite technically skilled people to bolster our industrial growth, emphasis must be laid on providing jobs for the qualified local youth who are forced to seek jobs outside Goa. The government must formulate a clear policy on migrants from the lower strata of society. It can start me implementing policies making contractors responsible towards the labor force employed by them. It would also help if a comprehensive survey is conducted on the number of non-Goans living in slums with the voter rights being revoked unless they have a proof of residence of at least 15 years within the union territory of Goa. The government departments should be asked to monitor the conditions of migrants belonging to the unorganized sector. The government should also liaison with the states these migrants come from to verify their antecedents and make arrangements towards deporting criminals and anti-social elements. The poverty and crimes in their parent states force them to flee elsewhere. Ironically, few of the people who work in the mega-projects here have been displaced by similar endeavors in their home states. They essentially are working towards building houses for their well heeled Indian counterparts. We do have a moral duty to look after our fellow men, but should we curb our own development to rectify the failure of other states? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read more such articles and write in your comments at :- http://fungoa.blogspot.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.flickr.com/photos/goaobserverstream/
