Date: Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:43:06 -0800 (PST) From: Samir Kelekar <[email protected]>
Re: recent discussion on role of NRGs and Goa, much can be done but empty talk is of no help. 1) Work on alternatives; not just talk about them, but implement them. NRGs can invest in non-polluting, sustainable alternatives, that create jobs, and gives tax revenue to govt. Mario responds: Is an NRG's empty talk any different from a local Goan's empty talk? Apparently local Goans have been unable to stop even "illegal" mining, assuming you are correct about the illegality of these mines. The suggestion I made has already been developed elsewhere and doesn't stop any positive and long standing economic activity in some Luddite fashion, but is a win-win option that would create additional jobs in rehabbing and landscaping depleted mines, paid for by the mining companies as a cost of doing business. This is a truly progressive approach versus the regressive approach of those who like to call themselves progressives but are not. It seems to me that if millions of local Goans who are directly affected, including influential members of the community like yourself and Fred and Rajan and Joe and Floriano and Wendell among others, have been unable to get anything concrete done to address the problem of what you describe as "illegal" mining then it is hardly likely that NRGs who have already decided to "invest" elsewhere are going to shift gears and do anything more than provide ideas and moral support. While you and Fred have taken umbrage at that, your umbrage seems gratuitous because the ideas and moral support can hardly hurt your efforts at addressing local problems that the locals have been unable to solve. Knowing what has worked elsewhere also shows you what the possibilities are. Having said that I do commend the passion and the efforts of all those I have mentioned above. BTW, if India and Goa would allow foreign investors easier access to India's potential, its natural resources and its brainpower, the smart investment money would flow in without anyone begging for it. For example, far eastern countries have been financing US lifestyles and economic policies for decades now, often at the expense of their own taxpayers when they sell us products subsidized by their governments or invest their government's funds. Once they have bought a farm or a factory or a skyscraper or any other fixed asset, what are they going to do? The record shows that they want to maximize their investment, reinvest most of their profits right here, and everyone benefits. Their funds, a lot of which they earn from selling products and services to us, are gainfully trapped here and we get to be a superpower and a country with a superior quality of life compared to most other places.
