Miramar-2002 And Miramar-2010 Saving a beach from powerful tentacles of privatization- was it a pyrrhic victory?
Dr. Nandkumar M. Kamat (Appointed by state govt. As One man commission to conduct public hearings on Miramar beach Management Plan-December 8, 2001 to Feb, 7, 2002) Before you read further, Please view:- http://goanews.com/news_disp.php?newsid=250, http://goanews.com/news_disp.php?newsid=247, http://goanews.com/news_disp.php?newsid=242}<http://goanews.com/news_disp.php?newsid=242> Exactly eight years ago, on February 7, 2002, at 10.30 a.m. I entered the office of Mr. Manohar Parrikar, MLA,. Panaji and CM of Goa, at Old secretariat accompanied by Mr. Sandip Jacques, GM, GSIDC and the liaison officer for one man commission appointed by Finance department to conduct public hearing on Miramar beach management (privatization) plan. Mr. Parrikar was dictating a note. He stopped that work and welcomed me. I presented him a copy of the report. The official photographer clicked the scene. Mr. Parrikar looked at the bulky report. I said- “Your government need to study and implement the ten recommendations given at the end of the report. We particularly need better zoning for Miramar beach, people’s participation in the ecofriendly management of beach, an assessment/ performance audit of state governments’ privatization efforts so far , framing an omnibus beach management act and beach users’ rules, a policy on privatization and private sector participation in infrastructural projects, a policy and an act for infrastructural projects, statutory support for public hearings on mega projects”. He browsed through the copy while listening to me and then kept it aside with other files to be read at leisure. I told him that I am releasing the summary of the report to the press. An important episode had come to an end… but that was not really the end of privatization of public commons in Goa. As I look back at those events-I wonder what really was achieved?. Almost all the voices which opposed privatization have fallen silent. Miramar is getting a facelift but beach is facing an ecological death. Miramar-2010:-All along the new seashore road named after Dr. Jack de Sequeira public land ( acquired by Town and country planning dept and transferred to PWD to construct the new road linking Miramar circle to NIO circle ) has been encroached by private parties. They are wealthy and influential people. Boundary poles have been removed. Cross drainages have been blocked. Gardens and orchards have been erected. Private parking plots have come up in acquired land. Unauthorised religious structures have mushroomed overnight. Market cost of the encroached land- Rs. 300 millions. The collector, north Goa is helpless. The Chief Town planner is helpless. The Chief engineer, PWD shuts his eyes. Sand dunes which existed during 2001-02 have been leveled. Ahndful which barely managed to survive near Carnzalem were stripped of surface vegetation and now face extinction. Beach vegetation lies trampled and fragmented. A monoculture of Coconut and Casuarina plantations has simplified the sand dune ecosystem. Flashback to Miramar:-August 2001 The newly established GSIDC moots the idea of private management of beaches in Goa. To begin with Miramar beach privatization is proposed for a stretch of 1800 metres. Techno-economic feasibility reports are prepared. The issue comes up during monsoon assembly session. Govt. assures to consult all stakeholders. September-November 2001:-Voices of protest emerge against beach privatization plan led by PMCA a leading NGO from Panaji. The matter comes up before the state cabinet. December 1 st week:- The cabinet decides to appoint a one man commission to conduct public hearings. December 7, 2001:- I get a call from CM’s office. They seek my consent to be the ‘one man commission’. A call from CM Mr. Parrikar follows. He says that I would have just one month to submit the report and could operate from a place of my choice. December 8, 2001:- The notification is issued. I ask the GSIDC to contact me with details of Miramar beach management plan (MBMP). I begin to study the formalities of conducting (non statutory) public hearings. I meet the MD, GSIDC in his office in EDC building and find the EDC hall suitable for public hearings. I ask GSIDC to make the details of MBMP available to public. December 8-15, 2001:- I conduct detail surveys and complete photodocumentation of the section of the beach to be privatized. First public hearing is announced. A participation form is devised. An e-mail id is created for people to make electronic submissions. Press notes are issued. I also issue instructions for video recording and verbatim notes/transcripts. The hearing is kept open for all. The video-CDs are made available by GSIDC for viewing on request after the hearings. Press briefings are held after every hearing. December 18, 2001:- peoples’ memoranda and petitions trickle in. The first public hearing is conducted in EDC conference hall. It draws good response. People and NGOs demand extension of time to file their suggestions/objections/comments. I request the government to officially extend the time by another month, at least till end of Janaury 2002. The CM agrees. December 20 th-Jan. 10 th.- A series of meetings are conducted with government departments -health, tourism, Pwd, captain of ports and PMC and many shocking facts get revealed regarding mismanagement of city’s natural assets, drainage , sanitation and infrastructure. I visit other beaches in north Goa and complete documentation of conditions there. The civil society and NGOs also conduct meetings and mutistakeholder workshop under the leadership of TERI, Western regional centre, Goa and NIO. NIO director and scientists also actively join the campaign against MBMP. Middle of Jan. 2002:- Second public hearing is conducted. It draws good response. The representatives of traditional fisherpeople are requested to join an on site inspection of the beach on Jan. 21 st. A press note is given requesting citizens to join the inspection for ascertaining the ground conditions of the beach. After studying NIO’s report commissioned by sewerage dept. of PWD I am shocked to know that the water of river Mandovi from Campal to Caranzalem is not fit for swimming and bathing. Jan. 21 st., 2002:- I begin a ‘beach walk’ at 3 p.m. from Old GMC, Campal and end it at 9 p.m. near Martins’ beach corner. The chairperson PMC. Mr. Ashok Naik joins me. I meet a large number of citizens in the walk and listen to their grievances, suggestions etc. We notice the non functional drainage system, dumping of untreated effluents, heaps of solid waste, clogging of RCC pipes below DB bandodkar road, seashore road etc. the encroachments near the beach are also documented. We note with alarm the discharge of seven million litres of sewage directly in Mandovi behind the indoor stadium. I direct the PWD engineer accompanying us to get the discharge stopped. I suggest to Mayor that the no man’s land near Children’s park, Campal not claimed by forest dept. needs to be taken over by PMC (now CCP) and maintained as we notice that the place had become a den for beggars, drunkards, pimps, commercial sex workers and drug addicts. Jan. 22-30, 2002:- Meetings are conducted with officials of PWD, health and PMC. Existing plans for infrastructural developments are discussed. I propose radical change in the labour contractors’ rules to make it mandatory for all migrant labourers to use the public toilets through a system of coupons. The aim is to stop the pollution of Mandovi waterfront and the Campal to carnzalem stretch of beach from menace of human excreta. Agreements signed by Tourism dept.. to lease out Aguada land to TATAs, Panaji Park to Hotel Mandovi and Terekhol Fort to a private party are studied. Material/documentation/policies/laws/reports on best practices for beach management around the world is collected and scrutinized. GSIDC is asked to submit its’ official justification for MBMP. The structural outline of the reportbegins to take shape. Jan. 31 to Feb. 5, 2002:- I work almost non stop to go through six volumes of detail project report of MBMP, make notes, complete a final scrutiny of all the electronic and direct submissions, letters, memoranda, transcripts of the public hearings etc. before typing the report. Feb. 5 , 2002:_ To maintain confidentiality I personally supervise the printing and binding of the copies of the report. Feb. 6, 2002:- the report of one man commission on Miramar beach management plan gets ready for submission. I inform the liason officer Mr. Jacques to seek an appointment with the CM. Feb. 7, 2002:- After official submission of the report I circulate the seven pages summary to the press through the official channel of directorate of information and publicity. ‘The MBMP is rejected”. Development after the report submission:- CM Mr. Parrikar accepts the report but the action on recommendations is shelved as the government faces trouble. The legislative assembly is dissolved. A care-taker govt. continues till elections in June 2002. I follow the findings which I made as one man commission at different levels and in fora keeping in view the ecological future of the Miramar beach in particular and Panaji in general. July 2002:- A BJP led govt. is installed. During monsoon assembly session -A starred question is raised on encroachments in land under PWD’s possession along the seashore road, Miramar. CM Mr. Parrikar intervenes to assure that the land would be resurveyed and all the illegal punctures and accesses by private parties would be removed. August, 2002:- some unauthorized private roads are excavated abutting on Miramar’s new seashore road. These were never planned in first place and never shown on ODP. After a few days the roads get restored. The whole issue is then forgotten quickly. 2002-2005:- The government is reminded about the restoration of St. Inez tributary of Mandovi and the arm near Indoor stadium. The IFFI developments see transformation of Miramar beach area. An ill conceived roadside drainage project is undertaken and then gets abandoned. Rain trees along DB Badodkar road are identified for slaughter. Citizens conduct a protest meeting in March 2003. Huge ribbon development accelerates on Miramar beachfront between Science centre to Caranzalem. Minor sand dunes get leveled at Caranzalem. Existing natural drains are destroyed. Streams shown on old Portuguese maps are obliterated. Elevation controls are sacrificed by tall apartments. These issues are repeatedly raised through several fora and also at an interaction meet organized by Panaji Rotarians. But the momentum generated over MBMP seems lost. The problem of invasion of weeds, dumping of garbage, glass waste, plastic waste, open defecation continues. 2006-07:- After initial skepticism and subdued opposition, the civil society of Dona Paula, Taleigao, Caranzalem, Miramar accepts the new landscaped childrens’ garden project within CRZ near Caranzalem beach. It is the first major concretized project at the cost of original tall sand dunes and dune vegetation. After the monsoon, the Tourism department presses heavy machinery on Miramar beach to remove the sand deposits. I lodge protest and succeed in persuading them to stop use of machinery and resort to manual labour. The CCP engages services of NIO scientist Dr. Antonio Mascarenhas for a mini beach nourishment project at Miramar near the circle. It proves successful. 2007-to March 2009.:- The decay of Miramar beach continues. Campal beach gets eroded. Several casuarina trees fall. Stretch of beach between Kala Academy to Youth hostel gets severely eroded. The swimming pool managers near indoor stadium continue to release high quantities of chlorinated water in the river Mandovi making fisheries difficult downstream. The fishermen continue to complain but it is the same old story. Beach vegetation around Hotel Marriott and Yatri Niwas struggles to survive. Huge shoals get formed at the mouth of St. Inez creek near GMC blocking tidal flushing. The Santa inez creek is meeting slow death. I alert the people by writing a series of four articles on mismanagement of the St. Inez creek. November 2009:- I conduct an inspection of St. Inez creek as part of JNNRUM study in presence of Mayor, CCP and MS, GSUDA and other officers and reiterate my suggestions made earlier to improve the drainage of the area, decongest the mouth of the creek and manage the unclaimed new Campal beach area by CCP. 2010 till Feb. 6th. The main beach near Miramar circle/Yatri Niwas undergoes frequent bouts of darkness due to non functioning of high mast lamp. Hundreds of city dogs, prized pets are seen to empty their bowels near the Miramar Caranzalem waterfront. There is no control over two wheelers being driven on the beach. Even Jeeps and Cars are spotted where access is possible from main road. The small pristine section near Martins’ beach corner becomes dirtier. Many traditional fishermen stop their business as they catch only garbage of the city in their beach nets. From original 15 as per the map of captain of ports only five sand dunes are found in place but severely fragmented. Some voices are protests emerge when the vegetation is cut and burnt. After some noise in and by press the matter is forgotten A facelift from Gaspar dias club to Caranzalem petrol pump appeals the people and patrons of the beach. There is better landscaping, new footpaths, comfortable street furniture-as the beachfront comes alive with new amenities- the memories of MBMP are assigned to the dustbin with the basic question of the expanding capital city’s solid waste management still hanging in air. Why Pyrrhic victory? 1. TATAs through their five star hotel at Aguada still retain the prime, scenic, well developed leased land, about quarter million sq. metres ( 25 hectares) on Aguada plateau granted by Tourism dept. to develop an entertainment park in 1997. Crores of Rs. in lease rent owed to govt. are in arrears. There is no sign of any park. The govt. is hesitant to cancel the lease and get back the precious public land asset costing about Rs. 250 crores for establishing a convention centre or a campus for the proposed National Institute of Technology (NIT) for which the hunt for land is going on. 2. The sacrifice of a scenic public facility-The publicly owned and publicly funded Panaji Park developed in the 80s by Tourism dept. at the cost of Rs. 2 crores for people of Panaji, opposite Hotel Mandovi and then leased in part to the same Hotel seems to be now totally surrendered by the government and no citizen of Panaji can enter the concretized commercial waterfront without patronizing the restaurant. The open public space next to the park where a public parking facility could have come up is also surrendered. It stands concretized today to facilitate parking facilities of the customers of the private Hotel while we have to hunt for a parking place in the city. 3. The Private car showroom at Neuginagar -Fontainhas, Panaji:- Ask Microbiologist Dr. Joe Desouza or ex PMC chairperson Mr. Silimkhan or Fontainhas’s conservationist Mr. Percival Noronha, an arm of publicly owned natural Ourem creek was systematically reclaimed to create a plot and build a showroom of a famous Indian automobile brand. This showroom on reclaimed land is Panaji’s best kept secret and all political parties prefer to maintain convenient silence over it. Forthcoming privatizations:- 1. Full privatization of breathtaking Bambolim beach by a mega hotel and a part of Siridao beach by another private project 2. Full privatization of Terekhol, Keri, Arambol, Mandrem, Morajim beaches-Poor Goans would not be able to get access easily to popular segments unless escorted by a private army 3. A ban on local visitors in Baga area by private agents 4. Similar ban on Sinquerim beach, Coco beach ( now partially imposed) 5. Privatization of mouth and navigable part of Nerul/Verem river and Siridao river 6. Takeover of Fort Reis Magos and Fort Cabo de Rama by elite foreign private interests in connivance with an obliging state and spineless beauracracy The publicly sanctified Regional Plan 2021, the Himalayan blunder by activists, architects, town planners and engineers, which would be repented as time passes and people begin to suffer, is a ploy to gain time and accelerate these and many such privatization plans- these would completely contract the remaining public commons before the assembly elections 2012. On one side the traditional fisherpeople are crying for ecological and economic justice but are facing bulldozers. And the Goan society rolling in riches is sidetracking the implications of handing over public commons to private profit making interests. There is no opposition to people friendly, transparent , working models of PPP examined by all stakeholders on case by case basis-but let us say an emphatic No to handing over the precious public commons-our forests, fields, mountains, pastures, springs, intertidal zones, rivers, islands, beaches, scenic points, landscapes! I’m not sure whether I would be able to step on Bambolim beach this year!. This is the power and might of Rs. 2000 crores worth private capital and big names. February 7 th, 2002 was a day of my spiritual test. I had stood completely naked in front of mirror of history. My verdict was for my beloved people, my beautiful state, my caring soil. I heard the whispers of my fortfathers’ land on that night when I had finalized the report. I was moved by the labour of generations after generations of Caranzalem’s ramponkars-who in their simple language had taught me the political economy of Miramar’s fisheries resources. I just couldn’t’ see their bread being snatched away to make them internal ecological refugees. This land, this soil is in my blood. It possesses me and compels me to pen these impressions. No private profit based interest would be able to experience the communion which I have always enjoyed with the land of my forefathers whose every grain I love. The G in my land GOA , unfortunately, stands for “GREED” today-and it would serve our Nemesis. I am reminded of Khalil Gibran’s poetic admonition of his countrymen (Lebanon). Are these verses not fit for GOA:2010? MY Countrymen (by Khalil Gibran) What do you seek, My Countrymen? Do you desire that I build for You Gorgeous palaces, decorated With words of empty meaning, or Temples roofed with dreams? Or Do you command me to destroy what The liars and tyrants have built? Shall I uproot with my fingers What the hypocrites and the wicked Have implanted? Speak your insane Wish! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX What is it you would have me do, My Countrymen? Shall I purr like The kitten to satisfy you, or roar Like the lion to please myself? I Have sung for you, but you did not Dance; I have wept before you, but You did not cry. Shall I sing and Weep at the same time? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Your souls are suffering the pangs Of hunger, and yet the fruit of Knowledge is more plentiful than The stones of the valleys. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Your hearts are withering from Thirst, and yet the springs of Life are streaming about your Homes--why do you not drink? The sea has its ebb and flow, The moon has its fullness and Crescents, and the Ages have Their winter and summer, and all Things vary like the shadow of An unborn God moving between Earth and sun, but Truth cannot Be changed, nor will it pass away; Why, then do you endeavor to Disfigure its countenance? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I have called you in the silence Of the night to point out the Glory of the moon and the dignity Of the stars, but you startled >From your slumber and clutched Your swords in fear, crying, "Where is the enemy? We must kill Him first!" At morning tide, when The enemy came, I called to you Again, but now you did not wake >From your slumber, for you were Locked in fear, wresting with The procession of specters in Your dreams. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX And I said unto you, " Let us climb To the mountain top and view the Beauty of the world." And you Answered me, saying, "In the depths Of this valley our fathers lived, And in its shadows they died, and in Its caves they were buried. How can We depart this place for one which They failed to honor?" And I said unto you, "Let us go to The plain that gives bounty to The sea." And you spoke timidly to Me, saying, "The uproar of the abyss Will frighten our spirits, and the Terror of the depths will deaden Our bodies." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I have loved you, My Countrymen, but My love for you is painful to me Today I hate you, and hatred is a flood That sweeps away the dry branches And quavering houses. I have pitied your weakness, My Countrymen, but my pity has but Increases your feebleness, exalting And nourishing slothfulness which Is vain to Life. And today I see your infirmity which my soul loathes And fears. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I have cried over your humiliation And submission; and my tears streamed Like crystalline, but could not sear Away your stagnant weakness; yet they Removed the veil from my eyes. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX My tears have never reached your Petrified hearts, but they cleansed The darkness from my inner self. Today I am mocking at your suffering, For laughter is a raging thunder that Precedes the tempest and never comes After XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX What do you desire, My Countrymen? Do you wish for me to show you The ghost of your countenance on The face of still water? Come, Now, and see how ugly you are! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Look and meditate! Fear has Turned your hair gray as the Ashes, and dissipation has grown Over your eyes and made them into Obscured hollows, and cowardice Has touched your cheeks that now Appear as dismal pits in the Valley, and Death has kissed Your lips and left them yellow As the Autumn leaves. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX What is it that you seek, My Countrymen? What ask you from Life, who does not any longer Count you among her children? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Your souls are freezing in the Clutches of the priests and Sorcerers, and your bodies Tremble between the paws of the Despots and the shedders of Blood, and your country quakes Under the marching feet of the Conquering enemy; what may you Expect even though you stand Proudly before the face of the Sun? Your swords are sheathed With rust, and your spears are Broken, and your shields are Laden with gaps; why, then, do You stand in the field of battle? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Hypocrisy is your religion, and Falsehood is your life, and Nothingness is your ending; why, Then, are you living? Is not Death the sole comfort of the Miserables? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Life is a resolution that Accompanies youth, and a diligence That follows maturity, and a Wisdom that pursues senility; but You, My Countrymen, were born old And weak. And your skins withered And your heads shrank, whereupon You became as children, running Into the mire and casting stones Upon each other. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Knowledge is a light, enriching The warmth of life, and all may Partake who seek it out; but you, My Countrymen, seek out darkness And flee the light, awaiting the Coming of water from the rock, And your nation's misery is your Crime...I do not forgive you Your sins, for you know what you Are doing. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Humanity is a brilliant river Singing its way and carrying with Its mountains' secrets into The heart of the sea; but you, My Countrymen, are stagnant Marshes infested with insects And Vipers. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The Spirit is a sacred blue Torch, burning and devouring The dry plants, and growing With the storm and illuminating The faces of the goddesses; but You, My Countrymen...your souls Are like ashes which the winds Scatter upon the snow, and which The tempests disperse forever in The valleys. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Fear not the phantom of Death, My Countrymen, for his greatness And mercy will refuse to approach Your smallness; and dread not the Dagger, for it will decline to be Lodged in your shallow hearts. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I hate you, My Countrymen, because You hate glory and greatness. I Despise you because you despise Yourselves. I am your enemy, for You refuse to realize that you are The enemies of the goddesses. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX - Kahlil Gibran
