WHY I WAS PICKED UP BY THE POLICE AND HELD FOR THREE HOURS
By Venita Coelho
We no longer live in a democracy.
This is the sad truth I have been forced to look in the eye.
The Moira Gram Sabha was held this morning. At the previous Gram Sabha, I and two other members had not been allowed to speak because we were not on the electoral. Not only that, rowdies had taken over the Sabha and shouted down anyone who tried to speak up.
The Moira Action Committee was quite sure it would happen again, so yesterday itself we sent an application to the police for police protection in case the rowdies struck. And I had made sure to go and get myself on the electoral rolls since I had every intention of exercising my basic right to speak up. Well - the police were there. And this is what happened.
The Gram Sabha proceeded quietly until I stood up to ask 'What is happening on the 20 year development plan?' If I'd stood up to ask the time of the day it would have had the same result. A whole game plan immediately swung into place. One villager stood up waving my column from the Herald and demanded that I apologize for what I had been writing. I refused, saying that if they had a problem they should reply in the same forum and write to the Herald. Then more rowdies joined in and they began to shout.
The Sarpanch told me to reply to them. I refused. I had no need to - I had a right to the opinion I had aired. Then they demanded I not be allowed to speak and be removed because I was not on the electoral roll. I said I was ( Electoral Roll Part Number 8 Serial Number 809) and said they should produce the roll to confirm it. Nothing of the sort was done. Instead the shouting rose to a crescendo.
I was threatened with 'We'll see how you step out of your house. We'll see how you live in this village.' I was surrounded by a ring of shouting gesticulating men threatening me with the worst. And what did the police do? They swung resplendently into action - by grabbing me, pulling me forcibly out of my chair and dragging me to the police jeep.
I was driven straight to the police station and held for 3 hours. When friends asked if they could accompany me they were pushed away from the police van. Those who break the law, issue threats, intimidate are allowed to continue in the Gram Sabha. The single woman who is sitting peacefully in her chair refusing to walk out because it is her right to be there is picked up by the police. Not just picked up but forcibly dragged out. The Sarpanch not only refuses to check the electoral roles, he issues a complaint hastily scribbled on a piece of paper to the cops on the basis of which they grab me and pull me out of the Sabha.
I am then held for three hours. The police repeatedly assure me I am not arrested - but I cannot leave till the PI comes.
And meanwhile the Gram Sabha continues. No one protests. No resolution is passed condemning what has just happened. Two women panchas have sat there and watched another woman be dragged out as if she was a criminal.
Democracy is dead.
In a democracy every citizen has a right to an opinion and a right to air it.
In a democracy the rule of law is supreme.
In a democracy the police are on the side of justice.
In a democracy the officials are bound to act by rules and laws.
No. Ours is not a democracy. I asked too many awkward questions. I wrote a column in which I aired my views. I questioned illegalities in licences. I had to be shut up. And so the Sarpanch ignored every rule in the book to get me out of the Gram Sabha. The police turned on the person who had requested their protection in the first place. The rowdies threatened, shouted, shut me up - and were allowed to get away with it completely.
I enclose the column I wrote last week for the Herald. Sadly, every prophecy I made in such sadness and disillusionment has come true. It has indeed come home.
THE ACCIDENTAL ACTIVIST : And it comes closer…
I have always been inordinately proud of Goa. Nowhere else could I have dreamed of being an accidental activist. I have often said to my mother - 'If I had raised my voice like this in any other state in India I would have had goondas at my doorstep threatening me by evening'. Only in Goa could a movement like that started by the GBA flourish. Only in Goa could a government be brought to its knees by ordinary people and be forced to take back a Regional Plan. Only in Goa could one stand up fearlessly and be an activist and proud of it.
Goondaism, attacks, intimidation – all those happen far away, in other states like Bihar.
And then it comes home…
I woke up one morning to read headlines that left me stunned. A desperate protest against illegal mining had ended with a woman, her eighty four year old mother, and her nine year old daughter being put in jail.
I sat there in shock. Women had been man handled while the police stood by. A nine year old girl had spent the night in jail. Surely this was not happening in Goa?
Then it comes to those you know…
A few days later I woke up to read headlines of Aires and Prajal being attacked and blood being shed. Prajal is as much of an accidental activist as I am. One of the most gentle people I know, it is his love for Goa that has led him to speak up. And he had been brutally beaten. Aires had actually had the fingers on his hand cut off!
One too many awkward questions asked – and a violent attempt to throttle the voices. But surely not in Goa? My Goa?
And then it comes to your doorstep…
I woke up one morning to find that I had been served a notice by the Panchayat claiming my garage was illegal and I should show cause why it should not be demolished. I was not alone I discovered. All core members of the Moira Action Committee had been served notices. One of them even got a notice because her wall was one centimetre more than what was shown on the building plans!
Certainly it is not in the league of getting beaten up and losing a few fingers. This is mere common or garden harassment – but while the scale is different, the principle and the methods are exactly the same. Use official clout to harass and intimidate when the questions get too awkward. And then, if that fails – bring on the muscle. At the last Gram Sabha in Moira, the Panchayat hired rowdies who shouted down any member of the Sabha who tried to bring up awkward questions.
The members of the Panchayat are people like us. They are the ones we live next door to. The ones with whom we share a milkman and a newspaper vendor. Simple everyday people. I wonder if they realise that in making the choice to use common harassment they have taken the first step towards corruption. The first step down a long path that leads eventually to activists being beaten up and blood being shed.
The problem with Goa is not that her politicians are corrupt. It is that her people have become corrupted. Let us not blame those in governance alone. It is the man next door who is corrupt - who has traded a favour to build an illegal wall; who has bribed someone to get permission to add one more floor to his house; who has not protested wrong doing because he himself has a skeleton to hide; who has voted in a ward member who he knows will give him permission to add an illegal garage. Goonda raj and blood shed is the grand finale. The humble beginning is in a Panchayat that chooses to harass, in a neighbour who chooses to trade turning a blind eye for favours.
It begins right here, next door. The vicious cycle of corruption and intimidation has come home to stay. It lives next door to you. It's time to ask ourselves if it lives in the same house as we do.
-- 'You must be the change you want to see in the world' - Gandhi
Casa Coelho, House No. 876, Bambordem, Moira V.P.Goa - 403507
9867166057 / 832 2470861
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Orlim Meeting of Sunday, 19 October 2008
Press release by Kim Miranda
Co- Convenor & Spokes person, Orlim Gaum Rakhon Manch
Orlim Gaum Rakhon Manch first Public awareness meeting held on 19th Oct 2008
The meeting organized by OGRM had a good turn out of villagers from Orlim and neighbouring Fatrade Carmona and Benaulim also attending. Among the many present on the dais including Orlando D'silva from Carmona and Savia Viages from Carmona. The speakers came from the length and breadth of Goa. Including Gajanan Naik from Nerul, Prof Ramesh Gaus from Bicholim ,Fr Erimito Rebello from Sancaole .
The Meet started by 3 songs sung by Lizanne Rebello –Goyghem oslem dusrem na –lyrics and music Wilmax. Followed by another song by Saira Fernandes –Sobit Amchem Goyem –Lyrics Chris Perry. A trio then performed who took the 2nd prize earlier this season at the Kala Academy Goemchem Udergot Lyrics Ida Coutinho and Music Lusi Coutinho
The Convenor Mrs Ida Coutinho of Orlim Gaum Rakhon Manch welcomed the gathering and the speakers in her short address she briefed the people of what has been happening in the village of how roads were being acquired or widened where it was not required only to facilitate a few individuals and the builder lobby while villagers of Orlim from Batty ward have been requesting for a road for so many years the same was yet to see the light of day .
She said instead of the Government encouraging farming in the villages of Goa by introducing and encouraging the farmers to use news technology to grow more crops they are filling the paddy fields for roads and thus giving a boost to mega housing in the villages in the name of development.
Albertina Almeida – said In the good old days roads meant development now roads lead to Mega Projects as per the new TCP rule. Alvito Fernandes from Navodeem Citizens forum Colva –Compared the builder to a worm and requested the people of Orlim not to allow this worm to set in the village or it would then eat into the village completely transforming it forever as it was doing in Colva and Benaulim .
Maresl Pereira from Goa Velha said no outsider could come to Salcette to win an election but that will soon change. Fr Bismark mentioned that the age old system of protecting the water bodies the Communidade must be understood encouraged . Our villages can only take so much and no more our field's rivers ponds and open spaces need to be protected in order to keep Goa for the generations to come.
Gajanan Naik from Nerul said there are 189 panchayats in Goa and nearly all the villages were having a similar problem with wonton destruction of land either at the hands of the builder or miners and the Government is telling a different story and trying to fool the people.
Geraldine Fernandes Convenor GGRM said that let the people decide what the people want and then let the Government implement the same . She encouraged more youth and women to come out to fight like she had done for the cause of her village and Goa .
Soter d'souza from Peaceful Society said our freedom of speech has now begun to be restricted by the State and concerned authorities with them wanting to know who is going to speak and meetings and what is to be discussed and spoken. He quoted Somnath Chaterjee saying 'People who misuse Panchayat funds should be called anti National "
Ramesh Gawas spoke for a short while saying Goa in each village was seeing the second opinion poll and needed to wake up soon before is Goa going goan ….
Serifino Cotta said that having one individual from outside come a settle in Goa is not a problem but in a small or village if there is an influx of persons from another scio economic background and culture it will change the full dimension of the village .He cautioned landed people and others overseas donating properties to Individuals and Religious societies ,as these properties are then sold mostly to outsiders for a large profit .This is done in the name of building hospitals and Collages at the expense of the people of the village many of whom never see the light of day .
The concluding speech and vote of thanks was made by Shanty Fortes.
The Gaum Ghor Rakhon Manch had this meeting to make people aware of the problems they going to face with the onset of the builder lobby coming to the village. OGRM is all for development but not at the cost of the village .We want sustainable development that will help the farmer increase his crop the Dairy farmer increase his yield of milk production introducing new techniques, encourage those who's land is laying fallow to farm their lands.
This kind of development will enhance the village life bring prosperity keep the surrounding clean and green and encourage the tourist who surely comes to see a green Goa not a concrete jungle
Co- Convenor & Spokes person, Orlim Gaum Rakhon Manch
Orlim Gaum Rakhon Manch first Public awareness meeting held on 19th Oct 2008
The meeting organized by OGRM had a good turn out of villagers from Orlim and neighbouring Fatrade Carmona and Benaulim also attending. Among the many present on the dais including Orlando D'silva from Carmona and Savia Viages from Carmona. The speakers came from the length and breadth of Goa. Including Gajanan Naik from Nerul, Prof Ramesh Gaus from Bicholim ,Fr Erimito Rebello from Sancaole .
The Meet started by 3 songs sung by Lizanne Rebello –Goyghem oslem dusrem na –lyrics and music Wilmax. Followed by another song by Saira Fernandes –Sobit Amchem Goyem –Lyrics Chris Perry. A trio then performed who took the 2nd prize earlier this season at the Kala Academy Goemchem Udergot Lyrics Ida Coutinho and Music Lusi Coutinho
The Convenor Mrs Ida Coutinho of Orlim Gaum Rakhon Manch welcomed the gathering and the speakers in her short address she briefed the people of what has been happening in the village of how roads were being acquired or widened where it was not required only to facilitate a few individuals and the builder lobby while villagers of Orlim from Batty ward have been requesting for a road for so many years the same was yet to see the light of day .
She said instead of the Government encouraging farming in the villages of Goa by introducing and encouraging the farmers to use news technology to grow more crops they are filling the paddy fields for roads and thus giving a boost to mega housing in the villages in the name of development.
Albertina Almeida – said In the good old days roads meant development now roads lead to Mega Projects as per the new TCP rule. Alvito Fernandes from Navodeem Citizens forum Colva –Compared the builder to a worm and requested the people of Orlim not to allow this worm to set in the village or it would then eat into the village completely transforming it forever as it was doing in Colva and Benaulim .
Maresl Pereira from Goa Velha said no outsider could come to Salcette to win an election but that will soon change. Fr Bismark mentioned that the age old system of protecting the water bodies the Communidade must be understood encouraged . Our villages can only take so much and no more our field's rivers ponds and open spaces need to be protected in order to keep Goa for the generations to come.
Gajanan Naik from Nerul said there are 189 panchayats in Goa and nearly all the villages were having a similar problem with wonton destruction of land either at the hands of the builder or miners and the Government is telling a different story and trying to fool the people.
Geraldine Fernandes Convenor GGRM said that let the people decide what the people want and then let the Government implement the same . She encouraged more youth and women to come out to fight like she had done for the cause of her village and Goa .
Soter d'souza from Peaceful Society said our freedom of speech has now begun to be restricted by the State and concerned authorities with them wanting to know who is going to speak and meetings and what is to be discussed and spoken. He quoted Somnath Chaterjee saying 'People who misuse Panchayat funds should be called anti National "
Ramesh Gawas spoke for a short while saying Goa in each village was seeing the second opinion poll and needed to wake up soon before is Goa going goan ….
Serifino Cotta said that having one individual from outside come a settle in Goa is not a problem but in a small or village if there is an influx of persons from another scio economic background and culture it will change the full dimension of the village .He cautioned landed people and others overseas donating properties to Individuals and Religious societies ,as these properties are then sold mostly to outsiders for a large profit .This is done in the name of building hospitals and Collages at the expense of the people of the village many of whom never see the light of day .
The concluding speech and vote of thanks was made by Shanty Fortes.
The Gaum Ghor Rakhon Manch had this meeting to make people aware of the problems they going to face with the onset of the builder lobby coming to the village. OGRM is all for development but not at the cost of the village .We want sustainable development that will help the farmer increase his crop the Dairy farmer increase his yield of milk production introducing new techniques, encourage those who's land is laying fallow to farm their lands.
This kind of development will enhance the village life bring prosperity keep the surrounding clean and green and encourage the tourist who surely comes to see a green Goa not a concrete jungle
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
from Orlimgaum rakhonn manch
14th Oct 2008
Ida Coutinho
Convener
Orlim villagers and farmers were in for a shock when they found some workers under instructions from the PWD dumping mud in the paddy fields to widen the road in Palcutt ward . The fields on either side of the road are being cultivated imagine the plight of the farmers when they noticed red mud being put in their paddy fields .
the owners of the concerned fields have yet to get compensation for the present 3 meter road that is being used and the PWD department is on a busy spree acquiring and filling fields without any written intimation to the owners. Acquiring and broadening roads seems the order of the day as per the new Town and Country planning circular where in no project can come till there is a road on site of a required specification.
The Orlim Gaum Rakhon Manch strongly condemns this action taken whereby instead on the Government promoting Agriculture and sustainable development is held bent on Acquiring and broadening roads that will only help the builder lobby at the cost of the Aam aadmi .
Ida Coutinho
Convener
Orlim villagers and farmers were in for a shock when they found some workers under instructions from the PWD dumping mud in the paddy fields to widen the road in Palcutt ward . The fields on either side of the road are being cultivated imagine the plight of the farmers when they noticed red mud being put in their paddy fields .
the owners of the concerned fields have yet to get compensation for the present 3 meter road that is being used and the PWD department is on a busy spree acquiring and filling fields without any written intimation to the owners. Acquiring and broadening roads seems the order of the day as per the new Town and Country planning circular where in no project can come till there is a road on site of a required specification.
The Orlim Gaum Rakhon Manch strongly condemns this action taken whereby instead on the Government promoting Agriculture and sustainable development is held bent on Acquiring and broadening roads that will only help the builder lobby at the cost of the Aam aadmi .
GGRM condemns violent assault on activists
The Ganv Ghor Rakhon Manch (GGRM) strongly condemns the violent and cowardly attack mounted on activists Aires Rodrigues and Prajal Sakhardande on the night of 0ctoer 13 2008.
The GGRM would like to draw to the attention of the Goan people and media that this attack has brought the attacks on Goan activists to a new low. GGRM has pointed out that there have been attacks on activists for a while now. This has included the police harassment meted out to activists in Benaulim, including the search at Cortalim for supposed 'terrorists'; it includes the violence visited on anti-mining activists, including the violent attacks on peaceful demonstrators in Quepem on the 11th of October, and their subsequent illegitimate arrest and detention. The attacks on Aires Rodrigues and Prajal Sakhardande have however taken this harassment too far.
The GGRM points out that it sees this attack as an attempt to silence and subdue not only Adv. Aires Rodrigues and Prof. Prajal Sakhardande but the rest of the Goan population. Speaking on behalf of its members, the GGRM points out though that they would not be cowed down and would continue to speak up in a democratic and non-violent manner against vested interest seeking to convert public wealth into private profits.
The GGRM also indicates that it is time for the State and official organs like the police to step up and bring the offenders to task and to enforce a social environment where peaceful and democratic protests can continue in security. For too long now, as in the cases cited above, the State has been complicit in these acts of aggression against citizens. It should be recognized, GGRM points out, that the assault on Adv. Rodrigues and Proff. Sakhardande has been made possible, because of the environment created by the State and its official organs.
s/d
Geraldine Fernandes
The GGRM would like to draw to the attention of the Goan people and media that this attack has brought the attacks on Goan activists to a new low. GGRM has pointed out that there have been attacks on activists for a while now. This has included the police harassment meted out to activists in Benaulim, including the search at Cortalim for supposed 'terrorists'; it includes the violence visited on anti-mining activists, including the violent attacks on peaceful demonstrators in Quepem on the 11th of October, and their subsequent illegitimate arrest and detention. The attacks on Aires Rodrigues and Prajal Sakhardande have however taken this harassment too far.
The GGRM points out that it sees this attack as an attempt to silence and subdue not only Adv. Aires Rodrigues and Prof. Prajal Sakhardande but the rest of the Goan population. Speaking on behalf of its members, the GGRM points out though that they would not be cowed down and would continue to speak up in a democratic and non-violent manner against vested interest seeking to convert public wealth into private profits.
The GGRM also indicates that it is time for the State and official organs like the police to step up and bring the offenders to task and to enforce a social environment where peaceful and democratic protests can continue in security. For too long now, as in the cases cited above, the State has been complicit in these acts of aggression against citizens. It should be recognized, GGRM points out, that the assault on Adv. Rodrigues and Proff. Sakhardande has been made possible, because of the environment created by the State and its official organs.
s/d
Geraldine Fernandes
Monday, October 6, 2008
GGRM memorandum to CM,CTP, minister & Director of Panchayats,
6th October 2008
To,
Mr. Digambar Kamat,
The Chief Minister,
Goa.
CC: The Minister for Panchayats, Govt. of Goa.
The Chief Town Planner, Town and Country Planning Department, Govt. of Goa.
The Director, Directorate of Panchayats, Govt. of Goa.
Memorandum to the Government of Goa
Dear Sir,
The Ganv Ghor Rakhon Manch (GGRM) is a federation of various village-level, and other civil society groups concerned with preserving the environment, livelihoods, identity and traditions of those living in the State of Goa. These groups have been involved with the opposition to the Regional Plan 2011 or have subsequently emerged when finding that the success against the Regional Plan 2011 has meant nothing in terms of the status on the ground. On the contrary, things have gotten worse since the revocation of the Regional Plan 2011. Allow us to list our complaints against the Government and the state of affairs we are witness to.
The Task Force (constituted to suggest a participatory process for creating a new Regional Plan) was loaded in favour of the real estate lobby. Shockingly the mandate of the Task Force was changed from "giving guidelines" to "preparing" the Regional Plan
The opposition to the Regional Plan was not merely a demand for a reworked spatial planning procedure. It was a demand for effective and rigorous participatory planning that took into consideration the existing socio-economic situations and with regard to these, made plans for the future. None of this seems to be forthcoming.
On the contrary, your Government has seen it fit to amend the Town and Country Planning Act, vide Sections 16 and 16 A to ensure that the Government will not be bound by a Regional Plan when eventually constituted. This setting up of the Government as above the law is an unconscionable act. We are aware of your justifications for the exercise, i.e. there will be rules under the Ac, however, to us this argument holds no water and at the very least we demand a public debate on the appropriateness of the rules.
Further, the Government has come out with Development Control Regulations preceding the Task Force Report whose mandate was to give guidelines for the formulation of a Regional Plan. This action makes the constitution of the Task Force, which was to consider the opposition that included giving weight to the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution, redundant.
In addition, the demand from the people has consistently been in favour of a greater realization of the vision of the 73rd and the 74th amendment. There has been no legal change or empowerment of the panchayats, to ensure that they would be capable of formulating Village Development Plans (that includes spatial planning), which would contribute to a renewed Regional Plan 2021.
To add insult to injury, your Government has presided over a situation where the voices of the people, represented in the Gram Sabhas, have been persistently disregarded and ignored. Citizens protesting this treatment have been subjected to various forms of intimidation, by local MLAs, Panchayat members and shockingly even at the hands of the police – the very force that ought to be protecting them.
Most unpardonable however, have been the constructions that continue to get sanctioned, and commercial buildings that continue to climb toward the sky, deface our environment and mar our livelihood options, in spite of the assurance of the halt on such construction activities.
· Further, there is no action forthcoming on the complaints made in respect of frauds committed by the Goa Industrial Development Corporation in leasing land to SEZ developers. If violations of land use and land lease and allocation provisions under the various laws are not taken seriously, any planning exercise will be rendered futile.
· There has been tremendous increase in the number of bore wells in the villages and in the existing industrial areas with absolutely no checks from the concerned authorities.
· Open cast iron-ore mining that Goa inherited as Portuguese Colonial Legacy has caused all round irreversible damage to Goa's people, our agriculture, our water sources - the springs and wells, our rivers, our mountains and even the air we breathe. Water - the very essence of life - has been one of the major casualties. Not only have mining-impacted villages in Goa's hinterland become water deficient due to digging of mines as deep as 40 meters below sea level, but this has also created water disaster for all of coastal Goa as the water reservoirs of our three dams - Assanora Water Works, Opa Water Works and Selaulim Water dam - are impacted by mining activities in their catchment areas. The extent of mining has not only destroyed Goan villages but has rendered the people aliens in their own backyard. This exercise has further violated the right to sustainable livelihood of the villagers.
· Communidade land is our heritage and needs to be protected. However, this land held in trust, is being blatantly acquired and sold to private owners more often than not to facilitate the constructions of buildings.
While we expect you to address the above matters of concern; the GGRM in light of these facts is nevertheless constrained to present to you the following demands,
1) The GGRM demands a total freeze on the processing of all commercial construction licenses in village Panchayat areas, and the commencement or continuation of construction on the basis of such licenses and permissions until the Regional Plan 2021 is approved.
a. We would like to make it clear that by “commercial construction” we mean specifically those construction and developmental projects designed to generate profit and support commercial activity. We are clear that there can be no ban on licenses for constructions undertaken for domestic purposes such as renovation, repair or extension to existing houses or the construction of single-dwelling units for personal residence.
b. Where complaints have been filed regarding illegal constructions and irregularities, the GGRM demands immediate stop orders on the works, and thorough investigations be undertaken followed by punitive action.
c. Further, we demand an immediate halt to hill-cutting and the filling of fields and low-lying areas that precede commercial developmental activity.
2) The GGRM believes that spatial planning can be effective only after comprehensive socio-economic planning (inclusive of spatial planning) has been effected. The GGRM therefore refuses to accept any Regional Plan as binding, which does not flow from the compilation of the District Development Plans for the two districts in Goa, themselves a compilation of the Village Development Plans (VDP) of all the Village Panchayats and Municipalities in Goa.
a. Toward this end the Government would need to issue a statement indicating its acceptance of this requirement; and,
b. Present to the people a time-frame and realistic framework through which these VDP will be articulated.
3) As per the provisions of the Goa Panchayati Raj Act, Gram Sabha decisions are binding on the Panchayat body. However the assertion of Gram Sabhas over the past few months has seen the erection of riders that circumscribe this power. In light of this, the GGRM demands that,
a. Additions to the Goa Panchayati Raj Act that will indicate that the decisions of the Gram Sabha are binding on the Secretary to the Panchayat in matters concerning the Panchayat.
b. Additions to the rules of the Panchayati Raj Act that fix a penalty for dereliction of duty by office bearers of the Panchayat.
c. A positive signal by this Government indicating its respect for the various resolutions of Gram Sabhas in the State, in so far as they are not violative of fundamental rights under the Constitution of India.
4) This Government has recently proposed new building regulations and given a short time period for public comment.
a. The GGRM demands that no building regulations, or any other regulations, be finalized and imposed on the Village Panchayats unless they are sufficiently discussed in the Gram Sabhas of the State.
b. The GGRM makes it clear that the onus for eliciting public response must fall on the State, and toward this end it must at the earliest spell out a procedure through which it will be possible for Gram Sabhas to obtain from a competent resource person, sufficient information regarding such changes to the law, prior to informed debate in the Gram Sabhas.
5) Despite the persistently documented threat that the mining industry poses to Goa, the Government of Goa has instead of cracking down on, allowed this industry to push Goa to the brink of an ecological and social disaster.
a. Goa's draft Mineral Policy instead of curbing mining in Goa promotes the same in a lot more aggressive manner by providing clearance to mining leases on cluster basis instead of planning to close down the mines that presently benefit only China.
b. For this and other reasons we reject the draft Mineral policy totally and put on record that we do not need mining nor the mineral policy that is unconcerned with passing on our beautiful Goa to our future generations.
Should your government have any reservations in this regard we would welcome a public debate on the Draft Mining policy at the earliest.
c. On priority basis all mines - legal as well as illegal - need to be closed down as these are the number one enemy of Goa's environment and its public health causing innumerable diseases particularly related to lung infections.
d. Immediate plan to reclamation of mining pits must be put in place.
e. Finally, the Central Government and its Ministry of Forest and Environment have granted a total of 128 Environmental clearances to as many mining leases through 98 Environmental Clearances according to latest information. The tiny State of Goa will be unable to sustain this and therefore the Government of Goa through its Chief Minister must publicly write to the Prime Minister of India to direct Union Ministry of Forest and Environment to withdraw all the Environmental Clearances and there by withdraw legal sanctity to ecocide of Goa.
The GGRM would like to draw to the attention of your Government that we wish to see a written and public response to this memorandum of demands within a period of 15 days failing which the GGRM will be forced to take up other methods to safeguards the interests of the citizens of this state.
We look forward to your written and public response to this memorandum.
Sincerely,
Geraldine Fernandes
Convener
To,
Mr. Digambar Kamat,
The Chief Minister,
Goa.
CC: The Minister for Panchayats, Govt. of Goa.
The Chief Town Planner, Town and Country Planning Department, Govt. of Goa.
The Director, Directorate of Panchayats, Govt. of Goa.
Memorandum to the Government of Goa
Dear Sir,
The Ganv Ghor Rakhon Manch (GGRM) is a federation of various village-level, and other civil society groups concerned with preserving the environment, livelihoods, identity and traditions of those living in the State of Goa. These groups have been involved with the opposition to the Regional Plan 2011 or have subsequently emerged when finding that the success against the Regional Plan 2011 has meant nothing in terms of the status on the ground. On the contrary, things have gotten worse since the revocation of the Regional Plan 2011. Allow us to list our complaints against the Government and the state of affairs we are witness to.
The Task Force (constituted to suggest a participatory process for creating a new Regional Plan) was loaded in favour of the real estate lobby. Shockingly the mandate of the Task Force was changed from "giving guidelines" to "preparing" the Regional Plan
The opposition to the Regional Plan was not merely a demand for a reworked spatial planning procedure. It was a demand for effective and rigorous participatory planning that took into consideration the existing socio-economic situations and with regard to these, made plans for the future. None of this seems to be forthcoming.
On the contrary, your Government has seen it fit to amend the Town and Country Planning Act, vide Sections 16 and 16 A to ensure that the Government will not be bound by a Regional Plan when eventually constituted. This setting up of the Government as above the law is an unconscionable act. We are aware of your justifications for the exercise, i.e. there will be rules under the Ac, however, to us this argument holds no water and at the very least we demand a public debate on the appropriateness of the rules.
Further, the Government has come out with Development Control Regulations preceding the Task Force Report whose mandate was to give guidelines for the formulation of a Regional Plan. This action makes the constitution of the Task Force, which was to consider the opposition that included giving weight to the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution, redundant.
In addition, the demand from the people has consistently been in favour of a greater realization of the vision of the 73rd and the 74th amendment. There has been no legal change or empowerment of the panchayats, to ensure that they would be capable of formulating Village Development Plans (that includes spatial planning), which would contribute to a renewed Regional Plan 2021.
To add insult to injury, your Government has presided over a situation where the voices of the people, represented in the Gram Sabhas, have been persistently disregarded and ignored. Citizens protesting this treatment have been subjected to various forms of intimidation, by local MLAs, Panchayat members and shockingly even at the hands of the police – the very force that ought to be protecting them.
Most unpardonable however, have been the constructions that continue to get sanctioned, and commercial buildings that continue to climb toward the sky, deface our environment and mar our livelihood options, in spite of the assurance of the halt on such construction activities.
· Further, there is no action forthcoming on the complaints made in respect of frauds committed by the Goa Industrial Development Corporation in leasing land to SEZ developers. If violations of land use and land lease and allocation provisions under the various laws are not taken seriously, any planning exercise will be rendered futile.
· There has been tremendous increase in the number of bore wells in the villages and in the existing industrial areas with absolutely no checks from the concerned authorities.
· Open cast iron-ore mining that Goa inherited as Portuguese Colonial Legacy has caused all round irreversible damage to Goa's people, our agriculture, our water sources - the springs and wells, our rivers, our mountains and even the air we breathe. Water - the very essence of life - has been one of the major casualties. Not only have mining-impacted villages in Goa's hinterland become water deficient due to digging of mines as deep as 40 meters below sea level, but this has also created water disaster for all of coastal Goa as the water reservoirs of our three dams - Assanora Water Works, Opa Water Works and Selaulim Water dam - are impacted by mining activities in their catchment areas. The extent of mining has not only destroyed Goan villages but has rendered the people aliens in their own backyard. This exercise has further violated the right to sustainable livelihood of the villagers.
· Communidade land is our heritage and needs to be protected. However, this land held in trust, is being blatantly acquired and sold to private owners more often than not to facilitate the constructions of buildings.
While we expect you to address the above matters of concern; the GGRM in light of these facts is nevertheless constrained to present to you the following demands,
1) The GGRM demands a total freeze on the processing of all commercial construction licenses in village Panchayat areas, and the commencement or continuation of construction on the basis of such licenses and permissions until the Regional Plan 2021 is approved.
a. We would like to make it clear that by “commercial construction” we mean specifically those construction and developmental projects designed to generate profit and support commercial activity. We are clear that there can be no ban on licenses for constructions undertaken for domestic purposes such as renovation, repair or extension to existing houses or the construction of single-dwelling units for personal residence.
b. Where complaints have been filed regarding illegal constructions and irregularities, the GGRM demands immediate stop orders on the works, and thorough investigations be undertaken followed by punitive action.
c. Further, we demand an immediate halt to hill-cutting and the filling of fields and low-lying areas that precede commercial developmental activity.
2) The GGRM believes that spatial planning can be effective only after comprehensive socio-economic planning (inclusive of spatial planning) has been effected. The GGRM therefore refuses to accept any Regional Plan as binding, which does not flow from the compilation of the District Development Plans for the two districts in Goa, themselves a compilation of the Village Development Plans (VDP) of all the Village Panchayats and Municipalities in Goa.
a. Toward this end the Government would need to issue a statement indicating its acceptance of this requirement; and,
b. Present to the people a time-frame and realistic framework through which these VDP will be articulated.
3) As per the provisions of the Goa Panchayati Raj Act, Gram Sabha decisions are binding on the Panchayat body. However the assertion of Gram Sabhas over the past few months has seen the erection of riders that circumscribe this power. In light of this, the GGRM demands that,
a. Additions to the Goa Panchayati Raj Act that will indicate that the decisions of the Gram Sabha are binding on the Secretary to the Panchayat in matters concerning the Panchayat.
b. Additions to the rules of the Panchayati Raj Act that fix a penalty for dereliction of duty by office bearers of the Panchayat.
c. A positive signal by this Government indicating its respect for the various resolutions of Gram Sabhas in the State, in so far as they are not violative of fundamental rights under the Constitution of India.
4) This Government has recently proposed new building regulations and given a short time period for public comment.
a. The GGRM demands that no building regulations, or any other regulations, be finalized and imposed on the Village Panchayats unless they are sufficiently discussed in the Gram Sabhas of the State.
b. The GGRM makes it clear that the onus for eliciting public response must fall on the State, and toward this end it must at the earliest spell out a procedure through which it will be possible for Gram Sabhas to obtain from a competent resource person, sufficient information regarding such changes to the law, prior to informed debate in the Gram Sabhas.
5) Despite the persistently documented threat that the mining industry poses to Goa, the Government of Goa has instead of cracking down on, allowed this industry to push Goa to the brink of an ecological and social disaster.
a. Goa's draft Mineral Policy instead of curbing mining in Goa promotes the same in a lot more aggressive manner by providing clearance to mining leases on cluster basis instead of planning to close down the mines that presently benefit only China.
b. For this and other reasons we reject the draft Mineral policy totally and put on record that we do not need mining nor the mineral policy that is unconcerned with passing on our beautiful Goa to our future generations.
Should your government have any reservations in this regard we would welcome a public debate on the Draft Mining policy at the earliest.
c. On priority basis all mines - legal as well as illegal - need to be closed down as these are the number one enemy of Goa's environment and its public health causing innumerable diseases particularly related to lung infections.
d. Immediate plan to reclamation of mining pits must be put in place.
e. Finally, the Central Government and its Ministry of Forest and Environment have granted a total of 128 Environmental clearances to as many mining leases through 98 Environmental Clearances according to latest information. The tiny State of Goa will be unable to sustain this and therefore the Government of Goa through its Chief Minister must publicly write to the Prime Minister of India to direct Union Ministry of Forest and Environment to withdraw all the Environmental Clearances and there by withdraw legal sanctity to ecocide of Goa.
The GGRM would like to draw to the attention of your Government that we wish to see a written and public response to this memorandum of demands within a period of 15 days failing which the GGRM will be forced to take up other methods to safeguards the interests of the citizens of this state.
We look forward to your written and public response to this memorandum.
Sincerely,
Geraldine Fernandes
Convener
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