|
Good? Bad? Ugly?
Locational Policy for Public Projects
by Nandkumar Kamat
February 22, 2008
The low-lying khazan lands with saline and corrosive soils, especially those that have been reclaimed from the mangrove swamps and that are projected to be submerged on account
of sea-level rise can never be thought of as suitable places for grand projects like stadiums and sports city. Although expensive engineering and technological solutions are possible
to overcome such concerns, the heavy expenditure coupled with time and cost overruns in such grandiose projects, which do not incorporate maintenance costs in designs, make these
prohibitive.
But it looks like under certain political compulsions the Goa
government is determined to use ecologically fragile khazan
lands for the proposed sports city, going by the announcement
of the acquisition of six lakh sq mt of land at Neura - once considered the rice bowl of Tiswadi. The only change, this time, is shifting of the original location of the proposed sports city
from the equally fragile Khazan lands at Calapur. Between the western bank of Cumbarjua canal to the bow-shaped road joining Pilar to Old Goa lie the vast khazans. Is the government
going to convert tenanted agricultural lands for this mega project? The final decision rests with the people, the panchayat and the gramsabha of Neura. They have every right to weigh the pros
and cons of the project after obtaining the full project report, engineering details and the environmental impact assessment report. They will have to make an informed choice.
All the arguments advanced during the agitation to oppose the alignment of the Konkan railway route cutting through the Khazan lands of Carambolim to Neura are still valid and would not just
melt in air when land reclamation work begins in full swing for the sports city. Personally, having studied the fragile ecology of the Khazans for several years, I am not in favour of using such
lands for massive load-bearing structures. Most of our sports facilities are poorly located and badly drained.
The playground at Bondir has obstructed the smooth water drainage from higher ground to the Ourem creek from the Chirculem branch. The playground under construction at Merces
would permanently obstruct the drainage of the surrounding area. A part of the playground at Taleigao becomes a swimming pool during the monsoon. Goa would welcome an all-round
infrastructural development in sports but not without a sound locational policy; because sports facilities and complexes need long-term maintenance. If these are wrongly located, wrongly
designed and wrongly constructed then it would be a waste of public funds.
It has become a fashion in Goa for the government to announce public projects without specifying a locational policy. No definitive, scientifically sound objective and rational criteria are
used in selecting and recommending the locations for public projects. Even the cabinet notes do not give comparative picture of the alternative sites. On most of the occasions the local people
are kept in the dark about the type and magnitude of the projects.
When the earthmoving machinery moves in, only then do the people wake up and action committees get formed. Such agitations could be curbed at the roots if the government declares
its locational policy for public projects.
The administration was more sensitive to peopleâs concerns over locations during the 70s and early 80s. That is how a committee under oceanographer, Dr Kasim was formed to select
and suggest suitable alternative sites for the Goa University when people opposed selection of the Kundaim plateau. After a careful survey and analysis, the committee recommended the
present site for the Goa University at the Bambolim-Taleigao plateau. A university exists for hundreds of years. So it was a serious error on the part of the government to claim two lakh
sq mt of the allotted land in the name of a convention centre, which actually turned out to be part of a mega seven star hotel project of a multinational hotel chain.
Interestingly, just across the river, the state government had made a blunder by leasing out three lakh sq mt of prime land on the Aguada plateau to an influential private hotel company
in 1997 to build an entertainment park. There is no park in the leased area. The lease rent running in crores has not been paid regularly and the land has not been surrendered back to the
government to be used for specific public projects. The tourism department spent nearly a crore for beautification of the Mandovi riverfront and created the public-funded Panaji park.
The park, meant to remain open to the public, has now been fully concretised, privatised and the original objective of public good has been sacrificed.
There would not have been any noise against the controversial Nylon 6, 6 plant and the Metastrip project if these were allotted space within the existing industrial estates. But the politicians became overenthusiastic in encouraging these projects outside the existing industrial estates. The administrative bankruptcy can be clearly seen in the shifting use of 88 hectares of land acquired at Bhutkhamb-Keri. The government commissioned a report in 1998-99 to set up a âGoa Food Parkâ at Keri. Now this project, with a new dimension, has been shifted to Quitol,
Quepem. Then, a film city was proposed at Keri. Some Bollywood financers made visits to the corridors of power. Suddenly this idea was dropped and we heard that a craftsmenâs village would be located on the land. At present, the land is identified for a SEZ.
Such uncertainties result when governments work without clear locational policies. The Verna industrial estate was once projected as âan electronic cityâ. But today it has become a hub for big names in the pharma industry. Even the government would not remember when and
how this change was made. The Cuncolim industrial estate was proposed for totally non-polluting industries but within a few years it became a haven for power guzzling
and polluting metallurgical industries.
A critical analysis of peopleâs agitations and mass movements in Goa since 1987 would show that many projects were opposed because the people were not convinced about their
locations and claimed benefits. Economic, industrial and infrastructural development is a necessity for any modernising state. But development should not alienate the people. They
need to be consulted as democratic stakeholders and be given a chance to express their concerns and grievances.
Even in the courts, the government has been always caught on the wrong foot when questioned about public policies. The judiciary has explained time and again that it is not interested
in running the government. One cannot just point to a map in USA or EU countries and declare that any project could come up at oneâs favoured location. There are elaborate policies
and procedures. These ensure long-term viability of the public projects. We donât have such enlightened governments in Goa.
|
|
