he Goa, we see is the result of decades of skewed planning, by politicians and political parties in power. Roads full of pot holes, contaminated ground water, destruction of nature in various ways and the general unhappiness of people of Goa, are the end result of these skewed planning. Everyone knew that Goa is being destroyed, inch by inch, acres by acres, mile by mile, village by village, yet no one tried to stop the destruction except few NGOs, which could stop the destruction by unveiling the corruption in mining but the corruption in tourism by and large still remains uncovered and those responsible for the destruction still receiving votes and accolades, fattening their deep pockets often kept safely abroad in tax havens and other safe places.
Goa’s destruction began right from Goa's first Regional Plan (RP) 2001 approved in 1986, which promoted 'high-end' tourism, giving many concessions to capitalist hoteliers with relaxed construction norms.
Tourism as such and by itself becoming the central theme of planning is a harbinger of destruction and directing Goa to be a Las Vegas, or Pattaya, where human life and human morals have little or no value, destroying the local people, their culture, their values and their very livelihood. A Himalayan mistake by any standard of assessment.
Goa came to be known for tourism because of two things, beautiful land surfaces, consisting of beautiful beaches, calm sea and rivers, valleys and soft mountains and green paddy fields, and the people, most amiable, friendly and accomodative of cultures and people foreign to their own.
Any planning to enhance tourism, needed preservation of these two key aspects and their enrichment. Unfortunately, or intentionally the leaders use ‘development’ for the destructions these two.
Perhaps, Goa may be the only State in India or even the whole world, where politicians and their polices are consistently, persistently and continuously destroying the very essence of tourism in Goa, that is, its pristine and serene beauty of land, tranquility of its villages and the cultural comity of its people, in every way possible.
They are not only rapidly changing the geography of its land surface but also changing the demography, creating discontent and unrest in the people.
Visit any country or location bestowed with natural beauty, the efforts of the ruling elite will be always directed at preserving, and reinforcing its natural assets and along with their tradition and culture and of course enriching the local people by giving them the advantage of their domicile, to use such bounty for their benefit and enhancement of economic standards.
But in Goa, using the lobby of ‘development’, like what is happening in the Northern States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where large tracks of barren lands have been converted to wide and long highways, buildings, factories, industries and residential complexes, as such lands are otherwise useless or like UAE, where the Rulers are building resorts, complexes and even ice cauldrons in desert lands to attract tourism.
But ultimately all their efforts is to green the lands, by building lakes, rivulets, farm lands etc for human existence, but in Goa the exact reverse is happening. Green fertile and cultivable lands are converted into concrete buildings, hills are cut, roads are made even, where people do not commute, all in the name of ‘development’ .
Goa has no barren land but green, fertile and useful lands in the form of beautiful beaches, cultivable land, rivers, valleys and forests. But Goa’s politicians and their friends see only money causing the destruction of land and people’s livelihood in the name of ‘development’.
The end result of all these skewed polices is all to see. Many among the tourists are drug peddlers, drug addicts, pimps, sex workers, underworld dons, gamblers and land grabbers. It looks as if Goa has attracted all possible evils into the State with promises of unlimited and unbridled enjoyments and a license to sin.
There are many countries in the world, which have promoted and sustainable tourism and provided prosperity to its people by preserving nature, to cite a few, Costa Rica the ‘Pura Vida’ lifestyle, meaning pure life. Iceland has sustainable and responsible tourism. Palau, a little island in the Pacific Ocean has introduced an app-based rewards system earn points every time you help to preserve its fragile ecosystem. The Galapagos islands Ecuador, Kenya are improving the livelihoods of local communities. Amazon basin - Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, are all preserving natural beauty of land and preserving and promoting local cultures.
Tourists flock to Slovenia to see its natural beauty, even India’s neighbour, Bhutan has a Sustainable Development Fee, Chile was named the World’s Leading Nature Destination. Norway is home to picturesque fjords, glacier lakes, snow-capped mountains and endless beaches. There are many more countries, which Goa could imitate for preservation of nature with sustainable tourism.
The only choice left for Goa, to defeat this vicious spiraling of evils is to, wake up, village, by village and assert that they have a dream for their well-being and prosperity and all government policies and actions have to be solely directed towards preservation of Goa’s land and preservation of culture and values of the people assuring decent livelihood to each in their own village by the promotion of tourism in the right perspective and mode.
The promotion of health and good quality education, at affordable costs to local people, should take priority, not by private profiteers but by the government, so that the future of the citizens will be secure. Promoting Goa’s traditional produces like local rice, various grains and products should be a priority. Village focused trade, culture, handicraft and traditional cuisine needs promotions.
Planning has to be people centric, around the needs, welfare and aspiration of the people
The only plausible remedy for Goa is to declare a Sabbatical year, where all land conversions should stop, till they are reviewed and necessity re-assessed.
(The writer is a Professor of Law & an Education Consultant)