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