Ganv Ghor Rakhonn Manch (GGRM) -Memorandum

Ganv Ghor Rakhon Manch
C/o # 1629/A Comlatolle,Vasswaddo,Benaulim, Goa- 403716

13/03/09

To ,
Mr Digamber Kamat
The Hon Chief Minister of Goa
CC Governer of Goa
President of India –New Delhi
Prime Minister of India –New Delhi



Ganv Ghor Rakhonn Manch (GGRM)
Memorandum
As you are aware, the Ganv Ghor Rakhonn Manch 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 and with the process of participatory planning.
Subsequent to a public meeting held on 28th February 2009, involving representatives from 40 villages, and our prior consultations with various other village groups from all over Goa, Ganv Ghor Rakhonn Manch (GGRM) presents the following statement to the
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Government of Goa, which outlines our objections to the ongoing Regional Plan process, indicating our reasons for the same, and the changes that must be affected if the Government is to display its commitment to the livelihoods and health of the Goan people and their environment, and to the. participatory planning processes enshrined in law, in conformance with the requirements of the Constitution of India.
STOP CONTRA PARTICIPATORY REGIONAL PLAN PROCESSES:
1. At the outset we convey our deep anguish that rather than carrying out the urgent legislative reforms described in the following section and which are critical to the participatory processes you have initiated for the RP 2021 preparation, you have passed, and/ or have proposed, legislative amendments and ordinances that are choking the participatory processes and denying them the necessary legitimacy, even as assured under the Draft RP 2021.
The Ordinance of your Government effecting a change to the Land Acquisition Act is only the latest indication of your absolute disregard for the processes of Law, where processes facilitating arbitrary rule are increasingly becoming the norm in the State.
You are called upon to forthwith and immediately repeal/ revoke the legislations/ ordinances passed from the date the Task Force was constituted, such as the amendments to sections 16 & 16A of the TCP Act, the proposed Goa Panchayat Raj Act Amendment Bill 2009 and the Land Acquisition (Goa Amendment) Ordinance 2009, and to desist from carrying out such anti-people or discriminatory legislations in the future.
IMMEDIATE DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATIVE CHANGES
2. You have recognized at paragraph 9.2.8 on page 128 of the Policy Document of the Draft Regional Plan 2021, that it is necessary for the Government to take immediate steps to make modifications as necessary in the Town and Country Planning Act, 1974, the Municipal Act, 1968, The Corporation of City of Panaji Act, 2002 and the Goa Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 to ensure that the process planned for the formulation, processing and implementation of RPG 2021 and its settlement plans fall within the process recommended by the Task Force. It should be noted that as of now, the entire Regional Plan process is proceeding outside of the space of law, making the process both arbitrary and open to challenge. And yet, instead of carrying out these urgent legislative changes, you have demonstrated utter apathy towards this very important legislative duty.
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It is therefore necessary that there be immediate modifications/revamping effected after public debate and discussion, as required in the Town and Country Planning Act, 1974, the Municipality Act, 1968, The Corporation of City of Panaji Act, 2002 and the Goa Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, as well as other legislation that needs to be harmonized with this, to create the legal framework within which the Regional Plan process may move forward toward fruition, as well as future replication.
OTHER IMPORTANT INTERIM REQUIREMENTS
4. The Government has proposed new Development Regulations as a part of the Draft Regional Plan 2021. By its own admission at paragraph 8.3.2 on page 118 of the Policy Document of the Draft Regional Plan 2021, the present Development Regulations are required to be withdrawn in toto as they are in conflict with these recommended RPG-2021 Regulations. This urgent need is also reflected in the sustained protests in all coastal and even some hinterland villages of Goa, displaying the people’s resentment with the destruction of the form and nature of their villages due to the Regulations currently in force. And yet, licenses are being granted unabatedly under these Regulations, thereby causing irreversible destruction of villages, rendering the draft RP 2021 redundant and making the people’s participatory process ineffective. Given that the formulation of the final RP 2021 would easily take at least a further six months to a year, permitting the current Regulations to continue to be applied, would cause further irreversible destruction of the rural areas in the State of Goa. Furthermore, given the furious pace with which licences are being handed out and constructions initiated, the continuation of these regulations make mockery of the detailed processes that many villages have undertaken in good faith as part of the Regional Plan process.
It is therefore imperative that as an interim measure there be effected a total and immediate freeze on the construction of structures in villages, not including individual houses built for personal occupation. Further these constructions, that are so determined to be permissible, should be in conformance to VP 3 Regulations, until the RP 2021 is finally notified.
5. Again by your own admission at paragraph 6.2.1 on page 103 of the Policy Document of the Draft Regional Plan 2021, Goa’s environment is under pressure due to promotional development and hence the Task Force considered it a priority to identify areas that needed conservation in the State and which are classified as eco-sensitive zones.

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Yet again by your own admission at paragraph 1.1.5 on page 118 of the Policy Document of the Draft Regional Plan 2021, data that was available with the Task Force for the purpose of preparing the Draft RP 2021 was uncoordinated and many a times erroneous, leading to wrong inferences. You have also affirmed the need for data to be verified and updated at the local level. Yet, licenses are being granted without taking cognizance of this urgent need identified by the Government, thereby causing irreversible destruction of the eco-sensitive zones which have to be conserved as per your own recommendation. The formulation of the final RP 2021 shall easily take six months to a year, and hence in the absence of identification of the eco-sensitive zones no construction activity should be allowed without verifying the ecological importance of the proposed construction site.
It is therefore imperative that as an interim measure, no construction be allowed in areas that have been demarcated as eco-sensitive zone-1 under the draft Regional Plan until the RP 2021 is finally notified.
In other areas, until the RP 2021 is finally notified, the construction of structures in villages be permitted only after the Gram Sabha verifies that the proposed site does not lie within an eco-sensitive zone-1.
6. At paragraph 9.2.8 on page 128 of the Policy Document of the Draft Regional Plan 2021, it has been firmly stressed that ODPs/CDPs are an integral part of RPG-21, and yet no processes have been delineated for people in the cities to discuss the Regional Pla. Even various villages that fall within in the shadow of municipality areas, for example, Taleigao and Chicalim, have been clearly told that they will not be a part of the Regional Plan process. Some other villages falling under the erstwhile ODPs such as Sancoale have been given kits and have been told to review the draft RP 2021, though the notified ODP proposes land use which is completely contrary to the land use proposed under the draft RP 2021.
Such a scenario makes a mockery of both the idea of a Regional Plan, where plans for future development are articulated based on data collected on the whole state and then woven together to allow for holistic development; as well as the need and Constitutional requirement for participatory planning in this process.
It is therefore imperative that your Government clearly indicate that the ODPs will be integrated into the Regional Plan process, that the residents of both the villages within these Municipality areas, as well as the residents of the Muncipalities themselves have an active, and clearly articulated legal role in the formulation of these Outline Development Plans.
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In conclusion we would like to restate the demands of the Ganv Ghor Rakhon Manch based on the reasoning that we have presented above.
The Ganv Ghor Rakhon Manch having evaluated the scenario unfolding via the preparation of the Regional Plan 2021 demands that
The Government forthwith repeal/ revoke the legislations/ ordinances passed from the date the Task Force was constituted, such as the amendments to sections 16 & 16A of the TCP Act, the proposed Goa PR Act Amendment Bill 2009 and the Land Acquisition (Goa Amendment) Ordinance 2009, and to desist from carrying out such anti-people or discriminatory legislations.

The Government immediately re-enact/ amend, after a thorough public debate and discussion, as necessary the Town and Country Planning Act, 1974, the Municipal Act, 1968, The Corporation of City of Panaji Act, 2002 and the Goa Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, as well as other related legislation that need to be harmonized, to create the legal framework within which the Regional Plan process may move forward toward fruition, as well as for future replication.

As an interim measure, until the adoption of the Regional Plan 2021, there be effected a total and immediate freeze on the construction of structures in villages, not including individual houses built for personal occupation. Further these constructions that are so determined to be permissible, should be in conformance to VP 3 Regulations, until the RP 2021 is finally notified.

No construction be allowed in areas that have been demarcated as eco-sensitive zone-1 under the draft Regional Plan until the RP 2021 is finally notified.



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In other areas, until the RP 2021 is finally notified, the construction of structures in villages be permitted only after the Gram Sabha verifies that the proposed site does not lie within an eco-sensitive zone-1.

a clear indication from your Government that the ODPs will be integrated into the Regional Plan process; that the residents of both the villages within these Municipality areas, as well as the residents of the Muncipalities themselves have an active, and clearly articulated legally recognised role (through the Goa Panchayati Raj Act, Goa Municipalities Act, Corporation of the City of Panaji Act and Town and Country Planning Act) in the formulation of these Outline Development Plans.

In conclusion we state that this is the last of the many memoranda that we have thus far submitted to you. We believe that your lack of formal and written response to any of our earlier memoranda is clear indication of your absolute disregard for the voices of the people, articulated with coherent and cogent reasoning. A failure on your part to respond to this memorandum by effecting immediately the interim actions we request, and by proposing clearly articulated time-frames for the remainder, within a period of 10 days from the receipt of this representation, will force us to mount a state-wide agitation against the government’s refusal to honour its earlier promises, to carry out its primary legislative duties and to respect the people’s reasonable demands.
Looking forward to your response,

Geraldine Fernandes
(convenor)

Babu’s Justification baseless!

Panchayat Minister Babu Azgaonkar justification that the proposed Panchayat Amendment will do justice to the common men who suffers due to some corrupt practices is a baseless and misleading. Politicial interference in the functioning of the Police, the beaurocracy namely the Directorates of Panchayats, The Block Development Office, The Town and Country Planning dept., the PWD, The health Dept. etc all connected with the issue of construction approvals in Panchayat areas is so common and needs no clarifications. Today there is miscarriage of justice only due to political intervention in each and every sphere of our lives. Today in Goa without verifying if proper infrastructure such as water, electricity, roads, garbage disposal, sewerage, availability of manpower etc., are available or not, the ministers and the authorities issued licenses for SEZ’s, mining’s and Mega projects, which forced the Goan public to come out on the streets in opposition crying for inadequate infrastructure. If the so called development does not benefit the locals and only takes away what we have who is to be blamed? Today we all know that Money is the only criteria behind these approvals or what else? If according to Babu 90% of the Panchayats do their jobs and only 10% are corrupt then why blame the existing law? The Panchayat Raj Acts needs amendment such as the 73rd Constitutional Amendment and not draconian laws such as this which smacks malafide. When we all know that 99% of the Ministers and beaurocrats are corrupt and are responsible for misconstruing justice and only 1% is honest then why not bring in laws to strengthen the grass root democracy and give power to the people to decide their own future. Under the circumstances it is desirable that the present Government should first bring in 73rd and 74th constitutional Amendment to strengthen grass root democracies. Secondly it should strengthen the justice delivery system by appointing Appellate Authorities under the guidance of the High Court to hear Panchyat level disputes to replace of the Director and Dy. Director of Panchayats who are under Government controls. Thirdly enact laws with specific time bound frames to redress the grievances of the common men and also to punish the so called corrupt including the beaurocracy which is involved in corrupt practices. Isn’t Justice delayed is justice denied?Is this not the better option? Orlando S. A. Da SilvaCarmona

PEOPLES MANIFESTO FOR GOAN POLITICIANS

Some time back through my letter “Its now or never”, I suggested that people of Goa should have their own Manifesto to judge our future MP’s. Here is a short list for your kind consideration. 1. To give effect to the 73rd and 74th constitutional Amendments to devolve powers to the grass root bodies namely the Panchayats and the Municipalities. The major Political Parties which has ruled Goa since 1992 has no respect for the constitution of India and in the last 16 years miserably failed to bring in a legislation to implement this Constitutional obligations and fulfill the aspirations of the Goan people. Even the Congress Party failed to honor the commitment of its leader the late shri Rajiv Gandhi the architect of the Panchayati Raj Act.. The Electorate should question the Party and press for this Amendment before the voting. 2. Immediate withdrawal of the amendments to the Town and Country Planning Act., to respect the sanctity and powers of the Gram Sabha of the Village Panchayats and the Municipalities. If this is not done there is no meaning to the preparation of Regional Plan at the village Panchayat level. The RP-21 exercise would be an exercise in futility. With this amendments the Governments has taken away the rights of the gram Sabha’s to plan what it thinks right for them in their jurisdiction. 3 Immediate withdrawal of the Amendments to the Panchayat Raj Act to amend Sec. 47 meant to give more powers to the Panchayat Secretaries to execute the orders of the BDO, Director of Panchayats, Dy. Director of Panchayats and also introduction of Sec. 244C. These amendments are also targeted to take away the powers of the gram Sabha and allow our elected representative to fool us. 4. Immediate withdrawal of the ordinance passed by the Government to nullify the orders of the supreme court in the case of Cidade de Goa. If the political Parties has no respect for the Apex court of this country they should neither have the right to rule this state. Our rulers instead of protecting the houses of Am Admi on the coastal belt found it prudent to save the Cidade hotel first. The Cidade management has succeeded in shifting the goal posts to score the goal which they failed in the supreme court after 14 yrs of litigation through this illegal ordinance. This is a matter of disgrace and shame to all law abiding citizens of this country. 5. To immediately ban Mega housing Commercial Projects, SEZ’s and sale of Goan land to land sharks from outside state and grant special status for Goa on the lines of North Eastern states. Goa definitely deserves a special status as Goa was liberated in 1961 only after India was declared a Sovereign Republic and was not a part of the of India union. 6. To publish on the local dailies the income tax returns of the candidates for the past five years to establish their integrity and honesty. If citizens are duty bound to file Tax returns our Politicians cannot be above boardGoenkara, Are you listening? Irrespective of our political affiliations and personal considerations Let us all unite this time to vote for a candidate who will work to free Goa from corruption and the current mess, to save our beautiful Goa for our future Generations. - Its now or Never. Orlando S. A. Da Silva,Carmona.

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PARADOXES OF OUR TIMES

Our Political Parties bask in the sacrifices of their founding fathers, but forget to live by their footsteps and their vision. They use their history / heritage in their elections campaigns but forget to live by their sacrifices and ideologies. Our Governments spent so much from our budgets on education and eradication of illiteracy but failed to fix minimum qualifications for our representatives in Parliament, and in Assemblies to legislate and frames laws for us. Our Political Parties at times nominate Criminals and uneducated persons as their candidates to legislate and rule us based on so called winablity factor . Today we have more Degrees, but less common sense, more knowledge but less foresight. Our Governments spent crores on poverty elevation, yet their numbers surge and inspite of six decades of independence we still have millions of poor people homeless, uneducated, and without a one square meal a day Appeasement of the marginalized for election purpose is the rule of the day and the poor are exploited during elections with money power. Our Leaders spent crores on our defense outlays but allowed infiltration of cores of Bangladeshis, Nepalese, and Pakistanis from across our borders. We spent so much on maintenance of internal law and order, but cannot curtail terrorism from our soil because of political interference in Police Departments and General Administration. Our Governments spent crores on judiciary and justice; yet our cases takes minimum 10 to 15 years or more for final judgments. Our Governments claim non interference in Judiciary yet they interfere with judgments passed by even the supreme court through ordinances. Our Political Parties talk of Am Admi as the epicenter of Governance but always have their own Khas Admi to derive the benefits. Our Political Parties speak of large membership base and followers and yet find it difficult to identify good qualified, honest candidates and always nominate the own coterie for elections. We have conquered outer space, but not inner space. We’ve split the atom, but not our prejudice. We have failed to curtail corruption, eradicate poverty, unemployment, injustice, and imbibe true democracy compared to developed countries and are still voting only for a note and on the basis of caste and religion. We adopted western module of Parliamentary democracy and praise ourselves as the worlds Largest democracy, but we conveniently ignored from them the concept of two Party Democracy and we have today multi Party democracy based on Religion, Caste, Language and Region which hinders uniform growth and development of all citizens. Today I therefore propose that atleast in Goa where the literacy rate is the highest in the country “ Let us all come together and ignore all Political Party affiliations and vote for only an educated, honest and a deserving Candidate irrespective of Party or No Party” Let us identify and field a Peoples Candidate if possible.” Orlando S. A. Da Silva Carmona

ITS NOW OR NEVER

Election is round the corner, and Major Political Parties will come asking for votes. They will place before us, their so called manifesto, and their ideology, which in the past have always been forgotten after the elections process is over. They have always taken the electorate for granted because they always believed that when there are ENOUGH FOOLS who can be bought for a note they will always be elected irrespective of their performance. Today we see a mad rush to get a Congress tickets. Some in the Party are holding the Party for ransom and threaten to backstab, others hope that if things do not go their way they will adopt underground guerilla tactics and defeat the Party Nominee. Every one poses self before the Party Ideology and Manifesto. Loyal Party Workers are sidelined and left in lurch and some even called them dogs forgetting that they were the watch dogs of the Party for decades and the leaders themselves strayed. The main Opposition Party has also not performed well either to the post they were elected for and instead kept their eye on vote bank politics and failed to ground the Government on issues like Ordinance Fiasco, the 73 rd and 74 th Constitution Amendments, Amendments to Town and Country Planning Act, Proposed Amendments to the Panchayat Raj Act meant to rob powers of the Gram sabha, Illegal mining terming anti mining activists as naxalites, and Mega housing projects etc. It is time now that we the electorate who in the past have always believed in the manifesto of the Political Parties and were fooled every time, and were forced to come on the streets on numerous occasions to highlight our problems, prepare our own Manifesto or Questionnaire and before we caste our precious vote compare it with the one presented by these Political parties and judge their performance regarding the issues dear to our hearts. In my opinion both Political Parties have no ideologies and principals left anymore to place before the electorate. Our tiny state with it past history and culture has always proved to be the most secular state in the Country so please ignore any Party’s call in the name of religion. In Goa all Communities has co-existed for centuries without any problems. Please try to know your candidate personal credentials. Please do not vote for Parties / candidates which are responsible for rape and sale of Goan lands to the land sharks from outside state, at the cost of Goans identity and abetted in degradation of our environment, our ecology, our culture in the name of development. Remember of the Promises made on Dabolim / Mopa Airports, whether Goa really needs two airports and whether in the long run Dabolim is destined to die a slow death. Leaders who trample the rule of law under their feet and intervene with the Police routine duties to misconstrue Justice. The Silence of the so called Political Leaders on these issues should be also evaluated. Its now or Never because by the next Election Goans may be aliens in their own land. A 1000 rupee note accepted for a vote for a term of 5 years is only 0.55 paise per day which today cannot buy even a bread that cost 2.50 paise. From: Orlando S. A. Da Silva Carmona

SERVING THE NEO-RICH

“Cidade effect spurs Micky “ on page one of Herlad dt. 27/02/2009 makes interesting reading. Hats off to Micky for asking the CM about the Am Admi who are served the demolition orders on the coastal belt. If the Cabinet can decide to issue an ordinance to support the Neo rich then why can’t the Government which claims to be the Govt. of the Am Admi come to the rescue of the so called poor Am Admi. The root question which disturbs me is why laws are to be framed if at all they are to be broken to protect the interest of the defaulters at heavy cost to the Public exchequer. The Apex court order has confirmed that Cidade is a defaulter which has broken all existing construction laws and agreements with the Government. The pretext of losing 500 jobs cannot be a good reason to sacrifice the prestige of the Apex court order at the alter of hypocrisy and corruption. Prostitution which some people are forced to adopt as profession due to their circumstances cannot be now legalized on the pretext that it involves thousands who itch a living in this country and yet every successive Government constantly endeavors to eradicate this unholy centuries old trade. If Cidade has concern for its workmen they should all be rehabilitated elsewhere but not at the cost of law which was framed to protect the interest of Goa and Goans and the country at large. If Cidade fails to rehabilitate its loyal workmen inspite of more than 25 years of existence then it has no right to exist like so many Companies which has to shut shops during the current recession. The Poor Fishermen’s houses existing within the 200 meters line prior to the cut of date should be distinguished by using modern testing techniques and saved and all those which are fraudulently built in recent times should also face the axe along with Cidade. If the existing law bans the existence of ancestral houses within the 200 meter of CRZ then the Government of the day should seriously think to Rehabilitate them all. My only plea please do not make Mockery of the Indian Judicial system. It has to be equitably applied to all Rich and Poor at par. Orlando S. A. Da Silva, Carmona. 27/02/2009