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TOO BROAD ROADS, GARBAGE DUMPS? NO THANKS, SAYS PARRA VILLAGE

2009-04-04T05:29:49Z

March 2009: It may be interesting and instructive to study the way in which Parra village in Bardez has drawn up its Regional Plan 2021. While most other villages have rejected the copy of the Draft RP2021 of their village sent to them by the Block Development Office (BDO) because of obvious errors, Parra decided to use the opportunity given to it by the government for conducting its own exercise instead. Recently, Parra's 20-member Village Level Committee on Regional Plan 2021 completed its work on the plan. The new Land Use and Development Plan drawn up by it is now put up for display at the Panchayat Ghor (village council office) and other public places for final corrections from the public. Also accompanying the Land Use Map is a copy of the regulations that are to be read together with the plan and which have been drawn up by the committee after discussions.]]> The new plan was put up for the final approval of the Gram Sabha on February 22, 2009, before it is sent to the government for inclusion in RP2021. The general scheme of the plan had been approved by the gram sabha (village council meeting) at a meeting earlier. The Parra Village Committee on RP2021 performed two major exercises on the plan. It first carried out corrections to the copy of the draft Regional Plan 2021 sent to the panchayat by the Block Development Office (BDO). After the corrections were carried out, the committee recommended certain modifications to the Regional Plan 2021 to the extent required for the further development and conservation of the village. This is the first time in several decades that the people of the various wards in the village have come together to participate in the planning exercise. The participation was enthusiastic and the committee held more than 15 meetings which most members always attended. Several parts of the village were physically visited and revisited. The village committee comprised representatives of all the 13 wards of the village in addition to the panchas and sarpanch of the village. (Due to the restrictive time schedule, individual ward level meetings, however, could not be held.) The committee was technically assisted in the preparation of maps by two outside consultants. These included the Goa Foundation and the Porvorim-based architecture firm called Mozaic. Both declined to charge any fees. How did the committee proceed? Simple! It scanned -- for the princely sum of sixty rupees, or US$1.25 -- the map that the Panchayat had received from the BDO (at Oasis, Panjim). The scale of this map was enhanced to 1:2500. Thereafter, various sections were parcelled out to the ward members who matched the information depicted on the map with their own intimate, day-to-day knowledge of their wards. Corrections were then incorporated in the soft copy, fresh prints were made, again subjected to scrutiny, etc. It took more than ten versions to be printed out in full colour till all the committee members were fully satisfied. The bare cost of preparing and printing out copies of the plan as it evolved cost the Parra Panchayat more than Rs.10,000. (The government has not made available any financial resources for this work in any case.) After this was accomplished, the second part of the plan was discussed, including the FAR (floor-area ratio) and road widening proposals. The public also welcomed the idea of marking a two-feet broad line on the left side of every road within the village that would be henceforth available exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists. A jogging track was identified along the bank of a tributary of the Baga river. Bird nesting sites were identified. The committee restored the cattle path to the village hill for grazing purposes. One of the most important decisions of the committee was the reservation of Parra hill as a permanent forest of the village. Though parts of the hill are thickly forested, while others have been re-afforested by the Forest Department, the entire hill was demarcated as forest/proposed forest. There was complete unanimity in the village in respect of declaring the Parra hill as forest/proposed forest and for maintaining the paddy fields free of all construction. The committee also decided that the village will be kept free of industries except for those marked under the green category of the Goa State Pollution Control Board list of industries. However, such industries will only be allowed at cottage level, if at all. The existing Regional Plan had only one plot in Parra which had been changed earlier to industrial. However, the committee decided that this would revert to settlement zone as the particular industrial unit had long since ceased operations. The second most important feature of the plan was the decision of the committee to revert the village to VP3 status, while keeping 80FAR ( Maximum built up allowed in VP1 ) for small landholdings. According to the Draft RP2021, the density of population in Parra works out to 755 persons per sq.km. However, this figure is misleading, since the density has been worked out including the forest, orchard and paddy areas which are not to be used for development or settlement. If one uses the area of the settlement area alone, the density in 2001 works out to 3205 persons per sq.km. This is already quite high. In 2021, the density, assuming an increase in population to 5334 persons, would work out to 4482 persons per sq.km! This has greatly influenced the preparation of the present land-use and development plan, forcing the village to seek development controls including VP3 status, with a FAR (floor-area ratio) of only 30 for plots in excess of 4000 sq.mts. The housing developments are further sought to be controlled by ensuring that the building will not be more than ground plus one with permissible height of 9 mts to the highest ridge of the roof. No stilt parking will be permitted. The committee decided to maintain the existing width of the roads in the village. These were measured and fixed on the map. The committee recommended that width of village roads and road widening areas should not exceed 6 mts even in those areas where road widening was possible. It was also decided to mark one section of the village as a conservation zone so that visitors can have a first hand idea of a Goan village that is well preserved. The committee took a dissenting view on allocation of a site for garbage. It did so on good, rational grounds. Today Parra is the only village in Goa which has a regular Sunday collection of non-biodegradable waste which is then sent to recyclers. All other biodegradable wastes are taken care of by individual households. Since the garbage problem is therefore handled in an intelligent manner, it was decided not to go in for a garbage site which was bound to be either misused or would degenerate into a dump. The land use map demarcates the paddy fields settlement areas, orchard and forest areas the district roads, panchayat roads and village roads. The development plan lists the names of all the vaddos in the village and unique ecological features including village kondlem (water collection points), udos, nallahs, bird nesting sites, and groves of coconut and banyan trees. All intersections in the village are being redesigned as no-development zones to ensure that there will be no accidents at such junctions. Parra villagers are a wiser lot today. They have discovered the following truths after their exercises in planning for their village: * As far as Parra is concerned, the 1986-2001 Regional Plan was nothing but a faithful copy of the gradual developments within the village environment over several decades. In other words, the RP 2001 merely based itself on the built environment already existing in the village and added nothing new. This means that villagers, without the benefit of planning, retained an instinctive regard for ecology. * However, between the period 1986-2001, because of the enormous corruption, the Town Planning Board and Department allowed questionable constructions in paddy fields and even places like traffic junctions in violation of planning and safety norms in the village. One two storeyed building was in fact allowed on a major intersection where road accidents have been quite common. In fact, under the garb of planning, the department actually tried to play havoc with the built-up scheme of the village that had evolved over hundreds of years. * Large number of errors crept into the Draft RP2021 simply because the draft Regional Plan was carelessly and mechanically blown up village-wise, with the result that in most cases, there was massive distortion through which settlement areas were found to encroach into paddy fields and orchards; existing forest areas became orchards, and so on. * However, the most important discovery of the villagers was that the draft RP2021 sent to them by the government was actually bereft of any planning features in respect of the needs of the village. The Town Planning Department had merely reduced the planning exercise to demarcating settlement, orchard and paddy fields with ideal road widths, without taking into account ground realities. On the other hand, the Parra Land Use and Development Plan prepared by the village has for the first time identified places for markets (permanent and seasonal), play fields (permanent and seasonal), parks and medical facilities and areas for conservation including heritage houses. It proposes to revitalise agriculture through organic farming and to support all small trades in the village. It has also set aside certain areas for the use of future generations. If other Goan villages do not survive, this one at least should.There is still a lot of work to be done, but a beginning has been made.

Master Gazette Notifications

2009-01-16T05:58:53Z

DOWNLOAD the Master Gazette Notifications here: MASTER GAZETTE NOTIFICATIONS

GBA releases Mini Guide to Draft RP 2021

2009-01-15T07:44:59Z

DOWNLOAD the MINI GUIDE RP-2021 RELATED DOCUMENTS MASTER GAZETTE

Indian Climate Solutions Road Tour: Begins from 03 January, 2009 (Thursday, Jan 22 - Friday, Jan 23: GOA)

2009-01-15T07:42:05Z

“A group of friends from the Indian Youth Climate Network and a solar powered band are travelling more than 3500 kilometers” New Delhi, 3rd Dec. 2008: A group of dynamic individuals from across India and around the world are launching on a journey of a lifetime across the country to highlight India’s local eco-solutions, and empower youth on one of the greatest challenges of our time: global climate change. Equipped with three solar plug-in electric Reva vehicles, a solar bus, a solar powered music band called Solar Punch, and a group of dancers from Shiamak Davar’s Victory Arts Foundation, these inspired youth are powered by a passion for their future, and the belief that “a set of determined spirits with an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history” as Mahatma Gandhi said. Embarking on January 3rd, 2009 from Chennai, the climate caravan will wind its way over 3500km through 15 major cities towards its final destination, India’s capital, New Delhi on February 4th. Representing an expanding network of youth and young professionals called the Indian Youth Climate Network. A group of 7 members of the Indian Youth Climate Network and a solar powered band are traveling more than 3500 kilometers in solar plug-in electric cars and alternative-fueled buses. Kartikeya Singh, Co-Founder and Executive Director of IYCN, says, “Our aim is to build a climate movement based on solutions—and our belief, that the greatest solution is our human capacity to take action.” The idea for the journey was created by two Yale graduates, Alexis Ringwald and Caroline Howe, who had seen inspiring climate solutions during their work in India. They wanted to both raise awareness and convert this awareness into tangible actions. There is a critical need for new ways to frame climate change as a major opportunity for young people to rethink development and create the future that they wish to see. During visits to college campuses, schools, corporate houses, public parks, and NGOs the journey will showcase and share the Indian solutions that exist today to show the world that India can take leadership and find exciting opportunities that encourage sustainability and economic development at the same time. Says Caroline Howe, Coordinator of the Climate Solutions Project, “Young people in India are already aware of climate change. It’s now time for climate change action: to create, communicate and celebrate climate solutions!” To create solutions, the journey will include daily climate leadership trainings which aim to engage future young leaders to envision and build a greener and cleaner future. At each training, the travellers will launch a local youth network to allow individuals to start projects and share experiences locally. To communicate solutions, the group will be documenting success stories of India's Climate Solutions to initiate an interactive database of Indian Climate Solutions (www.indiaclimatesolutions.com), as well as sponsoring a Climate Solutions Video contest to encourage documentation of local solutions. To celebrate solutions, there will be Climate Solutions Celebrations in each city, bringing together local climate heroes, ranging from Chief Ministers to cricket players, from corporate leaders to respected environmental experts, from Shiamak Davar's dance team to songs sung by Sri Muttemwar, Minister of New and Renewable Energy, honoring the most inspirational climate solutions. Says Alexis Ringwald, International Coordinator of IYCN, ‘Even if climate change were not happening, these solutions can address India’s environmental sustainability, economic development and energy security. On top of this, India is uniquely placed to take advantage of the immense business opportunities that exist globally in solving climate change.’ The Climate Solutions Road Tour is the first call to the Indian youth of its kind. It is a positive, collaborative, questioning search for a future that we can aspire and evolve towards, take a lead on and be proud of. It is also the launch of IYCN’s Climate Solutions project, which aims to document and communicate India’s climate solutions. Anna da Costa, Editor for the India Climate Solutions project, says ‘By collecting the voices of India on this issue, the Indian Youth Climate Network hopes to drive consensus on the need to take action and inspire a generation of visionaries to create the future that the Indian youth, and the youth within every Indian, wishes to see’. Climate Solutions Road Tour 2009 Friday, Jan 2 - Saturday, Jan 3: CHENNAI Sunday, Jan 4 - Tuesday, Jan 6: BANGALORE Friday, Jan 9 - Saturday, Jan 10: HYDERABAD Wednesday, Jan 14 - Friday, Jan 16: PUNE Saturday, January 17 - Tuesday, Jan 20: MUMBAI Thursday, Jan 22 - Friday, Jan 23: GOA Saturday, Jan 24 - Sunday, Jan 25: MUMBAI Monday, Jan 26: VALSAD Wednesday, Jan 28 - Thursday, Jan 29: AHMEDABAD Friday, Jan 30: DUNGARPUR Saturday, Jan 31: UDAIPUR Sunday Feb 1: BEAWAR Monday, Feb 2: AJMER Tuesday, Feb 3: JAIPUR Wednesday, Feb 4 – Saturday, Feb 7: DELHI For further information, images, and interviews, contact: Caroline Howe: caroline@iycn.in, +91 9953424293 Alexis Ringwald: alexis@iycn.in, +91 9971537751 Kartikeya Singh: kartikeya@iycn.in, +91 9999008807 Vineet Handa: vineet.handa@kaizzencomm.com, +91 9811660897 Vrinda Mathur: vrinda.mathur@kaizzencomm.com, +91 9971186136 For the detailed agenda, please see: http://www.indiaclimatesolutions.com/routes-and-dates

SPOTLIGHT: DRAFT RP-2021

2009-01-15T06:13:29Z

DOWNLOAD the DRAFT RP-2021 See related MAPS

We no longer live in a democracy

2008-10-27T03:18:04Z

by Venita Coelho 27 October 2008 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.

Why they put four women in the jug

2008-10-18T14:18:21Z

October 12, 2008: Yesterday afternoon at around three in the afternoon, in Maina, Quepem, forty-six year old Cheryl D'Souza, her nine-year old daughter Aki, her mother Dora, aged eighty-four, and two women from their household, Rita and Shashikala, were manhandled by the police (after they had been attacked by goons from the mining company) and put in a cell at Quepem police station. Before one reads political ambitions in Cheryl's actions, her own take is that it was a last ditch resort, a necessary bit of theatre to focus attention on the ironies of this whole scam they call 'mining' in Goa. ]]> She was joined by Father Mathias from Sulcorna, and Rama Velip and some others from Collomb, both villages under threat from mining operations and who had pledged their unstinting resolve to stand by her side. The Goans were joined by Kurush Canteenwala, a filmmaker from Mumbai, who caught the bus the evening before to join them in their protest on Saturday morning. In June, he had already visited Maina and Collomb and north Goa, shooting his short, but blistering documentary on mining, titled 'Goa, Going, Gone', busy doing the rounds. At the last meeting of the anti-mining committee she attended in Panjim, Cheryl was told in no uncertain terms by Dr. Claude Alvares, who ought to know, given his unstinting resolve in the matter, that she could expect no recourse from the courts and had to, perforce, take the fight to the streets. The mining's started again, she told the committee, I see the trucks getting ready, and they're lining up on the road outside the mine. You stop them, is the message she got, don't take it lying down, which is exactly what she did. At Cheryl's request, Saby Rodrigues joined her to show solidarity and support. I don't have the exact numbers sitting here in Paud. I get the basis of this account from Cheryl over phone last night, from the hospital. They were taken there after languishing in a cell while the goons and police paced outside working out how best to work things out so that the mining continues from Monday morning. Cheryl tells me they've bashed both the cars. CNN IBN, NDTV 24/7, even BBC were informed about the illegal mining operations in Quepem in late May and right through the monsoons, but all sighed off, saying they had already done a 'story' on it. Cheryl's joked about this before, saying, that it needed her head to be broken before they think it's 'news'. Her protest was intended to be dramatic; she would block the road in front of the mine with the cars and chain Aki, Dora, Rita Shashikala and herself to them. The men would stand to the side and offer support. It did not pan out that smoothly. From nine in the morning their protest had the mining company abuzz, with managers and drivers in a tizzy. By late evening, goons led by a young political aspirant, perhaps even a staunch ally of the Chief Minister for all one knows, attacked the male supporters standing by. Cheryl's driver, Kasim, was beaten up; twenty men pounced on the young, tough Goan (with experience in Iraq) Cheryl hired to protect her family. Saby's camera was smashed. Kurush had his glasses broken, and was kicked several times while he was on the ground. Cheryl tells me she unlocked the chain and went to stop the goons. She was abused in the vilest language, the goons and their leader telling her exactly what they would like to do to her to show her who's the boss. The police inspector and his posse arrived and stood by while all this was happening, tapping his baton on his palm and staring at Cheryl. To Cheryl's great misfortune, CNN IBN and NDTV 24/7 may still feel she doesn't make it to the news at 9, but her actions may just highlight the political skulduggery at work, and give people the chance to bring Goa back to the rails with honest politicians. Last night, villagers from Benaulim hit by the corrupt practices of builders showed up outside the police station, and today at 6 in the evening I'm told there's a meeting in Margao to plan out where to go. When one says Cheryl's was a last ditch battle, this is true. It was Digamber Kamat himself who said there would be a blanket ban on mining until his cabinet's Draft Mineral Policy (DMP) was properly discussed. He said this at his house when he met some 25 people from mine-affected areas at his house the day before the DMP was made public. He said this in response to a statement that the mining operations in Quepem were illegal and in front of noted activists like Dr. Claude Alvares, Ramesh Gauns, Saby Rodrigues and many others. A few months back, during the rains, one of the mining companies (owned by a minister in the government no less) cut down about forty trees in the area adjacent to her land. Cheryl and her lawyer immediately filed complaints. The matter was hushed up, in spite of investigations carried out by forestry officials. What to do, one honest official told her, all the fellows in the south have been bought. For the last fourteen years Cheryl D'Souza and her late husband, Tony, developed their property to be a viable and profitable farm. When they bought it, borrowing to do so, they got it dirt-cheap. When they first tested soil on their land, they were told it's rich in iron, they could be millionaires. They laughed and built their house over the richest lode. Both actively worked closely with honest forest official Archana Singh to stop illegal felling of trees, mining of river stones, and illegal poaching. Cheryl slaved in marketing to pay back the loans and bring home the bacon, while Tony worked on the land with help from the agricultural department. Cheryl has been under threat ever since Tony passed away in a tragic accident. Because Tony was tough, no one dared to talk about mining. For the last year, the mining has come closer and even closer. A wise man said recently that "Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner". What's happening in Quepem right now, in villages from Kawrem, Maina, Collomb and all the way south to Sulcorna, makes those words come back. What we have here a large mine-owner contracting out his dirty work to other mining companies, who, in turn, contract this dirty work out to a few other dirty, fly-by-night mining operations of the base sort. These above mentioned wolves, aided by truck-drivers who've taken loans from them, are intent on destroying the environment. There is nothing less than that in their minds. I can write about the majesty of a spring in Maina till the cows come home, they will rip the water from the ground. They want to do to Quepem (in spite of what the draft Regional Plan pronounces for it) what has already been done in the poisoned minefields in north Goa, or what they will soon do around the coastal plateau where the bauxite is. There are a few other farms in the area too, one a major sugar-cane grower, but these have reasons to sell. The wolves come closer then, around her farm, the minister in question has already moved excavators in, ready to dig up land that has hitherto been used to farm sugarcane. The land owner sold out, in the process cheating the widowed wife of his brother out of her share. Cheryl herself was offered an astronomical sum to sell her property. She laughed and said how it was enough to pack up everything, including the house and dogs, and just move to New Zealand. Then lighting a cigarette, saying, yes, but I'd never be able to look at myself in the mirror again. Tony was cremated on the land two years and some back. He loved this damn place, I hated it, full of snakes and all sorts of creepy crawly things, give me a damn flat in Margao any day is what she used to say. Tony was the environmentalist dabbling with organic techniques, she was happy either reading or watching TV when not working. Then, after Tony died, she changed her mind about the place. It grew on me she says, I thought of doing something in Tony's memory. She figured out there were so many young children in the villages, what it really needed was a good school. That's what he said too, Cheryl says. Before she could think that idea through though, two huge hills disappeared in less than eight months. Overnight, she re-educated herself on the environment. Four days before she chained herself and immediate household to the cars, she sought an audience with the chief minister, telling him what a minister in his government was about to do. He told Cheryl his hands were tied, he was helpless. Hartman de Souza teaches theatre arts at the Mahindra United World College in Paud, Maharashtra.

RP-2021 MAPS

2008-10-16T14:53:06Z

CANACONA ]]> BARDEZ PONDA PERNEM MORMUGAO SANGUEM SALCETTE QUEPEM SATARI TISWADI ECO SENSITIVE ZONES

How I Started A Riot

2008-08-27T08:53:41Z

by Venita Coelho I did. Really. This is a true story. It sneaked up on me. All I was doing was keeping my appointment with the Mamlatdar. Having applied for my Voters Identity Card I had been issued a receipt and an appointment for 10 a.m. on Monday 4th at the Mamlatdars office, Mapusa. I arrived to discover that not only me, but, by a mistake, the entire district of Bardez had been given exactly the same time. There were people jammed in the corridor, on the steps, breathing in each others armpits, jostling, shoving and wondering what the hell was going on. There was no information to be had at all. We didn’t know if we were in the right place, how long we would have to wait, where exactly we were supposed to go…nothing. Dear Chief Minister, Yesterday your government deprived me of my democratic right. It is my right to have a Voters Identity Card - just as it is the duty of your government and the Election Commissioner to provide a reasonable process for me to get one. Having submitted my forms I was called for a hearing with the Mapusa Mamlatdar at 10:30 a.m. I arrived - only to discover that every single applicant from the entire district of Bardez had been given exactly the same time. There were hundreds of people jammed into a tiny corridor and up a flight of stairs. There was not a single notice with any information. So immense was the crush that women began to faint. There were old people, women, even women with young children, being pushed and crushed. The conditions were torturous. In desperation we rallied around and demanded that the Mamlatdar come out and explain to us what was going on and to make proper arrangements. Surely the office knows how many are likely to turn up and should have made proper arrangements. The Mamlatdar came out for a moment and her only response was to tell us ‘Go downstairs.’ I then called the Additional Collector who told me that something would be done. Nothing was. When our protest got louder, five policemen arrived. Not to solve our problems but to barricade the door so that no one could go in. The heat and the crowd got progressively worse. In sheer frustration I finally got your number from the media and telephoned you. I was pleasantly surprised when you took the call. You have partially restored my belief in your assertion of trying to create a ‘people friendly’ government. But to do that, you have to first teach the bureaucracy to not take the people of Goa for granted. It is official arrogance and apathy that puts the ordinary man through much trouble. Surely, if hundreds of people are expected to come in to verify their forms some sort of basic arrangement needs to be made? Is this not what the government is for ? Surely, if a Mamlatdar is questioned legitimately by the people she needs to respond in a better fashion? Surely, if the police are called in, it should be to help handle the situation, not to be used against the people who are already going through hell? A voters I.D. is everyone’s basic democratic right. This right is taken from them when the conditions are made so difficult that it is impossible to persist. Let me tell you who was standing in the crowd – among others, a mother with an autistic child, a lady of 72 with arthritis, a mother who brought both her children - who began to panic and scream in the crush. Ordinary people, Mr. Chief Minister. Ordinary, well meaning, law abiding citizens, who suddenly found themselves treated like stray cattle. Who were forced to stand for over two hours in inhuman conditions. We deserve a process which allows us our dignity. We were denied it. I waited two hours determined that I would get my ID. Finally I became the fifth woman to faint. I was forced to return home. I am requesting you to restore a basic democratic right not just to me but to all those who were forced to give up in the face of the inhuman conditions. Please immediately announce another date and this time let the Mamlatdar’s office indulge in some basic planning. This is easily done - large notices with information, and a system of issuing numbered tokens and adequate arrangements for water and seating. Above all teach the Mamlatdar’s office that the people can no longer be taken for granted. People cannot be taken for granted Mr. Chief Minister. And they will no longer be. As Gram Sabha after Gram Sabha shows, across Goa people are standing up for their rights. Democracy starts with the right to vote. We ask you to restore that to us. Sincerely Venita Coelho Moira ]]>

How to get a Voter's ID and keep your Sanity

2008-07-24T04:57:34Z

by Venita Coelho July 24, 2008: A year ago I was a Hindi film writer and my biggest battles were fought with producers in trying to keep item numbers out of my scripts. One year of GBA later – my battles are with the Panchayat, the Block Development Officer, the Town and Country Planning Department … all entities that in my earlier life I was hazily aware existed, but what were they for beat me. Ah me! The innocence of my youth. This blog is the story of an accidental activist. Who wandered all unaware, an innocent wet behind the ears, into the Goa Bachao Abhiyaan. A year later the ears are grimy from lack of washing. Where's the time?! There's amendment 16 and 16A to the TCP Act to be understood... there's the Panchayati Raj Act 1994 to be read… there's the awareness campaign for the villages there's the interim report of the Task Force…there's the irate letter to the Editor over mega projects… phew! From Bollywood to Bachao, from item songs to activism - it's been a tumultuous journey. And a perilous one. The most innocent step can plunge you into a host of bewildering complications. Take the other morning. It started all so innocently with a notice in the papers. The Govt. of Goa were pleased to inform all lazy bums like myself who have never bothered to register to vote that we could now go forth and get a voters I.D. from beside the Fisheries office. My friend Tanya phoned me a few minutes later with the latest update on the warfront we have opened with the Panchayat. The Gram Sabha is coming up and it's no holds barred right now. The Panchayat has decided that she and I would not be allowed to speak at the Gram Sabha. According to Regulation X, Subsection Y, Amendment Z – those who do not have a voters ID are not allowed to air their opinions in the Sabha. And we had aired ours loud and long in the last one to the great embarrassment of the Panchas. 'We have to get a voters ID right now!' cried Tanya, and a few moments later we were seated in my jeep driving through pouring rain, wondering where on earth the Fisheries office was. With impeccable logic Tanya pointed out it had to do with fish, so it should be on the river front. And she was right. We spotted it long before we expected to, thanks to the enormous line, three deep that snaked around the Caravela office and reached all the way to Quarter Deck. Our hearts sank. Fat ones, thin ones, soggy ones, dry ones, ones with umbrellas, ones with fellas… they were all clutching little bits of paper and standing patiently in the pouring rain. We got off to enquire. One question and we had a dozen different replies. One ponderous and informed looking fellow insisted we were in the wrong place. We could only join this line to have ourselves photographed for our Voters I.D. after we had been verified at the Mamlatdars office. And we could only do that after we had applied and appeared in the revised voters list. And we could only do that after we had applied in triplicate with everything including the nickname that our mothers called us on the form. Vibrating with information overload, we fought our way to the top of the line and the font of knowledge. Inside was a scrum. Several fisherwomen looked highly militant at our line barging and we pleaded we just wanted some information. We found it after a fifteen minute search in a small notice tacked to the door. Mr. Information was right. We had to go to the Mamlatdars office first. Determined to win this battle – we went forth. The Mamlatdar's office looked innocuous enough from the pavement. But entering it was like descending into Dante's hell. The power was off. We found ourselves stepping into a pitch black cavern that was packed with sweaty jostling people all waving forms. They were milling around three desks behind which helpless ladies in dresses were vainly commanding 'Back! Back! Please get in line!' It was too dark to see any notices. What people lacked in clarity of vision they made up for by volume – yelling inquiries at the hapless clerks at the tops of their voices. We took deep breaths and plunged into the perspiring mass. Several hard fought minutes later, battered and bruised, it was my turn to reach the desk and yell at the clerk demanding to know what the heck first time applicants were supposed to do? The clerk snapped impatiently at us. They weren't even accepting first time voter forms for another ten days. 'Only between 26th July and 9th August'. And not even here. At the mamlatdar that was closest to us. Mapusa in this case. Tanya and I emerged from the Inferno heated to combustion point. Why couldn't the Government put that on the notice? God knows how many first time voters were literally groping in the dark right now. Tanya proved to be of stronger mettle than me. I was all set to retire to a nearby pub and recover over a beer. She refused. 'I'm getting this licked today' she said 'We're going to the Mapusa Mamlatdar now!' I meekly changed gears and headed out. There was a bit of a traffic jam at the Mamlatdars office so Tanya hopped off to make enquiries while I parked. Then I discovered the reason for the traffic jam. A government vehicle was parked athwart the road, regardless of all rules and regulations. It had caused a merry pile up. I was the second of about twenty cars that had come in through the 'IN' gate and found there was no way to get to the 'OUT' gate unless the car was moved. After five minutes of futile honking I hopped out and inspected the car. It said 'Additonal Director of Panchayats'. Enquiries revealed his office was upstairs, so up I went. I accosted the first clerk I saw and explained the problem and asked him to have the car moved. 'I will send the man. Do not worry' he said. Twenty futile minutes later, up I went again. The clerk said 'We cannot move the car'. By this time I was starting to simmer. Where was that damn Additional Director to whom this car belonged? I spotted his office and walked in, excusing myself and explaining the problem. I could hardly make myself heard thanks to the chorus of frustrated drivers honking madly downstairs. The Additional Director took his time finishing his paperwork, then looked at me and said smugly 'if you request me, I might to do it.' Might??! Might? Might as well wave a red flag at a bull. Through gritted teeth I explained that it was a public road, that he had no right to block traffic, all we were asking him to do was move his car two feet to the left. His driver arrived and said flatly 'I'm not moving the car.' And why was this? 'when we came this morning somebody else had parked crooked so we had to park crooked. Now we will not move the car.' I told him he had held up twenty drivers. He refused. I told him to give me the keys I would move the car. He refused. I told him what he was doing was wrong. 'Do what you want' he said with the arrogance of those in long term government jobs. At which point I am sorry to admit I had a total melt down. When I came to my senses five minutes later I had been standing in the middle of the office yelling at the top of my voice that they had no right to do this! They were government servants here to help us, not obstruct us! That they were arrogant asses who inconvenienced the public! Was all their self respect wrapped around moving one stupid car two feet to the left?!! Everybody was gaping at me. There were amused smiles on their faces. How lovely. They'd succeeded in their primary mission which is to obstruct the public and drive them to utter frustration. Did they move the car? No. Twenty frustrated and tired drivers finally reversed out of the IN gate into the face of the oncoming traffic because one arrogant government official refused to move his car two feet. How's that as a metaphor for the way government interacts with citizens? Sometimes I wonder why I'm an activist. But when I find myself standing in the middle of a government office, reduced to yelling at the top of my voice in sheer frustration – I know I've done the right thing. For those of you who still want to get a voters ID after reading this account here is how to do so in several not-so-easy stages. On a less flippant note, let me urge you to get registered to vote. We are the reason we have the rotten governance we do. If enough of us middle class voters got around to voting – there would be a sea change in election patterns. So go on – get up you lazy bum and head out! 1. Go to your nearest Mamlatdars office and collect the form. 2. Fill it in. Most important is the column that says 'Relatives who have a voters ID'. If you have none, get the nearest neighbours with a voters ID to give you their names and the numbers of their ID's. 3. Get proof of residence ( Form 1/14, Electricity Bill, Telephone Bill, Sale Deed etc) 4. Get to your Mamlatdar between 26th July and 9th August. Get them to verify your form and accept it. 5. Take the receipt and head to the Election Commissioners office in Panaji. Right next to the Fisheries Department which is right next to where the Caravela docks. 6. Get your photograph taken. 7. Pray to God you did it all right. Enquire from ponderous and well informed looking man what you should have done in the first place. Ha! There's a footnote. Two days later there was an item in the Herald which I read with the hair rising on my forearms. The Govt. wished to inform the public that there had been a problem with their data base. All voters who had made their voters ID card before 2000 A.D. would have to do it all over again! I sat there gasping. The phone rang. It was Tanya sounding smug and righteous. 'See? We're not lazy bums who didn't get our Voters ID's done. We were instinctively waiting for the right time. If we done it when we had to – we'd have had to do it all over again!!!' What can you say but – whew!

Accidental Activist

2008-07-21T10:27:03Z

Releasing soon

2008-07-21T10:25:06Z

Horrors of amendment 16&16A

2008-07-20T05:48:01Z

Click on DOWNLOAD below to read 'Horrors of amendment 16&16A' and learn what the implications of the Act are. DOWNLOAD

Interim Report & TCP Act amendment

2008-06-04T03:19:36Z

GBA Press Release: 3 June, 2008: The GBA reiterated its objections to the Interim Report in its meeting held on 2nd June. The GBA has consistently expressed its stand on the 73rd and 74th Amendment of Constitution which calls for people’s participation in the planning process. The GBA stands by the demand that the Amendment to section 16 and 16A of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1974 be repealed because it undermines the very spirit of planning which is unacceptable. The GBA states that the timeline is totally unrealistic as the processes like collection of baseline data, pilot studies, inputs from socio economic experts have not yet come on board. The approach of Task force to the above mentioned points expressed in the Interim Report are viewed by GBA as serious reservations and hopes that suitable remedial measures will be taken. This has been conveyed in the letter sent to the Task Force by the Co Convenor and taken up by the Convenor with the Task Force. It has also decided to meet the Chief Minister on the issue of repealing the Amendment to the TCP Act. The GBA views with considerable consternation media reports that there is a rift in the organization.The GBA is solidly united and will continue to do so. GBA members come in all shades of the rainbow that comprises Goa. It follows a democratic process where all issues are debated and consensus arrived at. Like all red blooded goenkars, we have our vitriolic and even heated arguments but nothing can take away the fact that every single GBA member loves Goa as passionately, as commitedly and as undyingly as ever. Much to the chagrin of our detractors, the GBA marches ahead emboldened, focused and ready for battle TOGETHER. Dr Oscar Rebello Convenor

A school in the middle of a mine?

2008-05-17T09:43:46Z

November 2007 NDTV report