ABOUT US AND OUR PLEA TO ALL CONCERNED

Plea to stop proposed township in Carmona, Salcete

Location and Heritage

The village of Carmona is located on the southern coast of Goa that stretches from Colva to Mobor, and is hemmed in by the villages of Varca and Orlim on one side and Cavelossim on the other. Carmona has about 1,200 homes spread over ---- kilometers of its settlement zone. As much as 55 per cent of the land in Carmona is agricultural and ---- per cent is horticultural/orchard land. Its settled population is around 5,000. Carmona has its own church, which celebrated its 400th year in 2007, and few chapels.

Carmona, reckoned to be a 700-year-old settlement, is ranked among the 20-odd Heritage Villages by the Goa Heritage Action Group (GWAG). Unlike some others in this ‘privileged club’, Carmona does not boast of numerous unique, elite houses. It has a few old homes of the zonnkars which complement its old agricultural traditions, and have acquired the heritage status. But Carmona’s strength is its neat landscaping, bunding, old water channels, thickly-wooded tracts – all manifestations of the heritage if one applies the term in its entirety.

A large number of families have been living for generations in Carmona, sustaining themselves on agricultural and allied activities. In the last decade or so, an appreciable number of youngsters have found employment in West Asia or well-paying placements with the international shipping companies. Carmona has remained relatively untouched by the tourism, even as it is located on the South Goan tourist belt, comprising Betalbatim-Colva-Benaulim-Cavelossim.

Proposed Township

Presently, Carmona is caught on the horns of a dilemma. A prominent, Mumbai-based builder has proposed to initiate a mega-construction project, comprising 618 luxury apartments to be built as ground-plus-three structures. The proposed township is slated for development in an estate known as Chulibhat (survey no 64/01 and 67/01) at Tamdeg, one of the 11 wards of Carmona, and located on an upper incline bordered by the scenic River Sal. Industry estimates place the total project turnover at around Rs 200 crore.

Major Threat

While the proposed township could mean a substantial return-on-investment (RoI) for the developer, it threatens to rupture the peaceful environs of Carmona where families have lived in an eco-friendly harmony for several hundred years. Villagers are concerned on various counts, and have begun opposing the township at individual and collective levels.

Already, they have formed a broad-based committee, the Carmona Citizens’ Forun (CCF) – comprising lawyers, doctors, academicians, some Panchayat members and social activists – to raise awareness and highlight the disastrous impact of the proposed project on the lives of thousands of inhabitants. For records, the mere mention of the project at the Gram Sabha meeting held on December 9, 2007 resulted in heated discussions and unruly scenes. It all began with the Sarpanch tuning down the demand for a discussion on the proposed project by some Panchs and the members of the public. Police had to intervene to avoid a potential law and order problem, and the meeting was hastily adjourned.

Some of the major apprehensions of the villagers are listed as under:

a) Basic Amenities & Infrastructure

The proposed township would create havoc by putting tremendous pressure on the existing basic infrastructure including water resources, electricity, roads, garbage disposable and sewage systems, among others.

Like many Goan villages, Carmona has a perennial water problem as the government-supplied pipeline lacks adequate pressure. For instance, while the minimum pressure required is 2.5kg, the water gauge at Tamborim indicates 0.3kg pressure at any give time. This is because the villages along the tourist-favourite, coastal belt have to compete with the starred hotels who are often the biggest guzzlers of water. As a result, the water availability in Carmona is well below the lowest, minimum-required standards, whereas the village as a whole faces a water deficit of 3 lakh litres per day. Similarly, electricity supply continues to dog the villagers, with frequent power failures and interruption. The situation is likely to worsen over the next couple of years due to an acute shortage of power throughout India.

Another concern is of sewage deposit and disposal, more so because of the location of the proposed project on the banks of River Sal. The proposed township would lead to the contamination and depletion of ground water resources due to indiscriminate use, apart from blocking and restricting the access to River Sal because of its proximity to the proposed project.

The proposed township project plan does not indicate any provision for the access roads, necessary to service hundreds of luxury apartments. Ideally, a 6-10 meter wide access road would be required for the movement of large-scale men and materials during the construction and subsequently to service the residents (618 occupants would mean at least same quantity of cars, if not more). The existing approach road is extremely narrow, just 2.5 meters wide and fenced-in by the compounds and houses on either side.

Considering the ground realities in terms of basic infrastructure, the proposed luxury township for the ‘rich and famous’ will only render the villagers’ woes more acute.

b) Ecological Damage

One of the major attraction of Goa is its unique rurality; its architectural beauty; its thickly-wooded environs; and open spaces with clear divisions of land into agricultural, horticultural and settlement zones. International and Indian tourists come to Goa to enjoy this very special blend of nature, architectural traditions and a quaint urbanity that sets Goan villages apart from their counterparts in India or elsewhere.

This is particularly true of villages like Carmona in Salcete which are well-visualised in terms of space conceptualization, and are blessed with huge green tracts. The proposed township is to be built on the green zone of Carmona, which would mean cutting down thousands of very old, mature and healthy trees. On last count, there are 18,000-20,000 coconut trees, hundreds of Caju shrubs, dozens of Jambul trees, and above all, several ancient banyan trees. These green lungs of Carmona will have to make way for building the luxury township, which would lead to an irreversible ecological disaster not just for the villagers but for the entire Salcete.

Moreover, the proposed township constitutes the riverside property. Hence, its construction is bound to ambush the village on both sides, rendering its residents bereft of open spaces, and blocking their access to the River Sal front.

c) Land Prices

The proposed township is to come up on a property that reportedly involved a monetary consideration of Rs 43 crore. This has already put an upward pressure on the land and property prices, making it increasingly unaffordable for the locals. It is needless to add that the luxury apartments in the proposed township will be priced well beyond the purchasing power of the villagers. More significantly, for several hundred years, the locals have relied on the finite-yet-affordable ‘village land bank’ which is tapped into when families expand and additional housing becomes necessary. However, with large tracts of this ‘village land bank’, now being acquired to provide luxury housing to holiday-home buyers, villagers are concerned about the impending scarcity and the rising land prices.

The villagers fear such a development will not only push them to the fringes but will jack up the land prices in a manner which will disenfranchise them in their own village. They lament that they would eventually be driven out of their ancestral lands. Indeed, nothing will remain for the future needs if such large ‘urban colonies’ are given nod without considering that Carmona has its own needs as its population expands, not only for housing but for schools, recreational and entertainment facilities, open spaces, etc.

d) Population Pressure

As mentioned earlier, Carmona today has around 1,200 homes, and it has taken hundred of years for the settlement to reach its present size, in accordance with the principles of sustainable development and expansion. Now, the proposed township seeks to increase the size of the village by more than 50 per cent and that too, virtually overnight. This tantamounts to creating a tiger in the belly of an elephant!

The proposed township would not only exert an incomprehensible pressure on the existing infrastructure but would alter the very demographic profile, and the ward representation at the Panchayat level.

Word of Caution

It is amply clear that Carmona is in no position to support a project of such scale, and this is true of any other village in Goa. The proposed project is meant to solely benefit the builders and the investors and bring hardships to the locals. It is not that the citizens of Carmona are against development, but they believe all such efforts should blend into the environs of their village and espouse its eco-friendly goals. Since the villagers have coexisted in a harmonious way with strong community links, they are opposed to creation of mega-housing projects and gated communities which only serve to erode the sharing spirit that has marked the settlements of the village.

Moreover, such a development will be totally out of sync with the local realities. It would destabilise the existing demography and knock off the resources balance. Above all, it would be a paradox of justice and fair-play as it will disenfranchise the villagers in their own territory, the very natives who have built and preserved Carmona’s identity over the years. This constitutes a flagrant abuse of human rights, which will be opposed by the villagers with all their might.

Finally, the government and the concerned authorities need to prepare a blueprint for development of the village in a manner that is beneficial for the villagers. It will be ideal that such large, green tracts are used to create a botanical garden or a museum, or even a Cultural Habitat where the visitors can enjoy the scenic environs and the placid river views. These would be a matter of pride not only for Carmona but for Goa itself.