To Goanet -
Please forward this report of Matanhy Saldanha's
press conference to every Goan you know in Goa,
India, and around the world.
I am also including the text below in case there are
difficulties in opening the pdf file.
Regards,
r
http://www.parrikar.org/misc/Matanhy-SS-for-Goa.pdf
For Favor of Publication
At a press conference, held here today, Mr. Matanhy Saldanha, former Tourism
Minister,
said that after ousting the Portuguese colonialists from the soil of Goa, our
political
leaders of the past, played their role to protect the interest of Goa. But at
every stage,
Goans had to fight to protect their identity and their interest. To prevent
merger of Goa
with Maharashtra, Goa had to have the opinion poll to maintain its separate
entity. This
was followed by its struggle to have Konkani introduced in the 8th Schedule of
the
Constitution.
Forty seven years after freedom from the colonial rule, Goa is still not safe
and is in the
process of losing its identity. Being aware of Goa’s uniqueness, the then Prime
Minister
of India, Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru, had assured the people of Goa that Goa would be
given
special status to protect its uniqueness and identity. Unfortunately, it only
remained a
promise.
Mr. Saldanha said that, today, Goa has reached a stage where it runs the risk
of totally
losing its identity, as its limited land is being sold for the lure of money.
Land gives any
society its identity, security and scope to achieve greater heights. Some
gullible people of
Goa are being tricked into selling this very land by the real estate sharks,
builders and the
millionaires from all over the world, who come to Goa because they realize that
Goa is a
paradise to be owned. They come here not for the love of Goa and its people,
but for the
money they can make by exploiting the land and its people.
Even the land in possession of the schedule tribes and other backward classes,
land which
belongs to the age old institution of “Communidades” (community land), prior to
the
Portuguese, is unscrupulously being taken over or acquired by the Government of
Goa,
only to hand over to the industrialists, the businessmen and the real estate
developers, in
the name of so called development. Almost 70 - 80% of the beneficiaries of this
acquired
land are not the local people of Goa.
Mr. Saldanha further said that black moneyed people from all over India,
especially from
the north of India, are luring the local people to sell off their land, by
enticing them with
high offers. This has resulted in an artificial escalation in land prices even
in the remotest
corner of Goa, thus making it absolutely impossible for the local people to buy
land in
Goa.
The sale of land in Goa has resulted in the construction of gated housing
colonies, tourist
resorts and multi- storied buildings, even in the villages, in violation of the
existing rules
and regulations, thus changing the topography and the very character of the
villages
which are responsible for Goa’s uniqueness. Besides, these constructions are
mostly
purchased by people from the other states as the locals cannot afford the high
prices
inspite of their urgent need.
The sale of land and the construction activity in the state has resulted in the
influx of
people from other states of the country into Goa. Consequently, practically in
all the
industries including tourism and mechanized fishing, besides mining, 90 to 95%
of the
people employed are from the other states. Even in the small businesses like
fruit and
vegetable sale in the markets, the locals are totally displaced. Setting up of
small roadside
kiosks (gaddas) is also being taken over.
A quick survey of the coastal village schools and that of Ponda, Quepem and
Sarvodem,
reveals that nearly 60% of the students enrolled are from the other states, who
have
settled in the state of Goa. In some towns like Margao, Ponda and even
Murmogao, the
migrant population has outnumbered the local population, and this can be
verified from
the electoral rolls.
Mr. Saldanha said that, it must be noted that the population of Goa remained
stable for
nearly two hundred years before 1961 and was around five to six lakh, inspite
of the high
Goan birth rate. Today, the population has shot up to almost fifteen lakh,
within forty
seven years, inspite of the low Goan birth rate and this increase, is due to
the migrant
influx. One can confidently say that presently, almost 50% of the total
population in the
state of Goa comes from the other states of the country.
The people of Goa are not against migrants from any state of the country.
However,
today, the influx of people from other states is not just consigned to major
towns but
every village is being filled by migrants, changing the demography of the
villages,
outnumbering the local people and changing the cultural, social, economic and
political
identity of the Goan society. Goa has exceeded its saturation point as far as
population is
