BY ANNAND MADGAVKAR

An insider’s view into the GBA’s journey from its birth at the Don Bosco Oratory till today.

THEY WERE all there - NGOS, individuals, Saads, clubs and more individuals - to protest what was known as the Regional Plan 2011. The Regional Plan would have spelt the Rape of Goa as we know it - a diabolic plan drawn up by diabolic planners and politicians to change Goa forever and hand it over to speculators, real estate agents and builders from all over country and abroad. It would have been a treacherous sell out of our land to the highest bidders.

And to warn the public about this catastrophic happening, a meeting was called for at the Don Bosco Oratory. And, if my memory serves me correct, this was the humble beginning of the group now known as the Goa Bachao Abhiyan, because after the meeting was over and before everyone could digest the enormous treachery as speaker after speaker explained the consequences, it was suggested that an ad hoc committee be formed to hold a massive rally at Azad Maidan to enlighten the people of Goa from every corner of the state and oppose this Regional Plan and demand that the government throw it out in toto.

MASS MOVEMENT

STALWARTS from many organisations, numerous proven social workers and past campaigners of past movements were present and many suggestions were put forward as to who should spearhead this new initiative. After many suggestions and deliberations, an ad hoc committee consisting of a convener and spokesperson, two co-conveners - one for North Goa and the other for South Goa, a secretary and a treasurer were unanimously elected to lead the group, which ultimately became the Goa Bachao Abhiyan - a mass movement consisting of all the good people of Goa.

The huge, well attended meeting at Azad Maidan set the stage for a massive movement that caught the imagination of every Goan and, with the help of people from all over, meetings, protests, seminars and representations were held or made all over the state till the government in power at the time withdrew the entire RP 2011.

It was a people’s victory - too many names of individuals and organisations would have to be written to record those that made it happen. So let me just say - what was unique was the GBA decision to not allow any politician to participate in the agitation because not one of them - ruling, opposition or independent - had stood up against the RP 2011 when it was passed and would have destroyed Goa.

The will of the good people of Goa had prevailed and, with it, at last a new hope was born that: Yes, we the people, the not so ordinary people of Goa could do something to stem the rot that politicians choose to deposit on us time and again to cheat the state and its people and trample upon our rights.

CELEBRATIONS

THERE were celebrations all round and congratulations to the GBA for its role in leading a people’s victory… there was plenty of praise showered for everyone to share, and rightly deserved too.

That brought the GBA to the next task at hand - that of formulating a fool-proof methodology to draw up future regional plans as per the wishes of the people, with their active participation as the provisions of the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution. However, following the principles of self government and panchayat raj is easier said than done, as we are still discovering…

It is always easier to break down something while it’s much more difficult to build and even more difficult to build something that is beautiful, strong, meaningful and built to last… and so it is with the methodology to draw up the regional plan.

Many meetings were held to form committees, find methods, study options and many people lent their expertise, time, efforts, sweat and blood to finalise this process. But, as time went by, the task proved daunting even to the most hard working and frustrations started setting in.

One this to be admired in the GBA was flexibility in its composition… from the start until now, there is no one who supports its cause who is not allowed to attend meetings, except politicians and, in spite of differences, decisions are reached mostly by consensus. There is also no exact rule book or constitution of the GBA, sometimes causing confusion about how to impose discipline on its members to help streamline its operational procedures. But we push on nonetheless as steady hands keep the boat from capsizing as it rocks during stormy times. And the stormy times are not only due to outside influences, but quite often due to restless souls within who love to rock.

TASK FORCE

AFTER the RP 2011 was thrown out, a Task Force was formed by the government to finalise a proper participatory process to draw up a Regional Plan in which the GBA was asked to join as one of the members and, as was the procedure set by the unwritten code of the GBAet by the unwritten code of the GBA, the Core Committee met and, after much deliberations, decided that our representatives should attend and continue to attend as long as proper procedures were adopted and report to the core group from time to time on the Task Force’s deliberations so united decisions could be taken on further course of action by the GBA.

So began another saga in the Regional Plan revolution… meeting upon frustrating meetings, reporting to the Core Committee of the GBA, confronting the members of the Task Force with GBA demands, demanding ensuring participatory procedures were adopted, reading between the lines to avoid pitfalls, demanding proper minutes be drawn up after meetings, making sure vested interests didn’t take unfair advantages…

Then, suddenly, there was a change of mandate for the Task Fore. From drawing up a procedure for all future Regional Plans to drawing up the Regional Plan 2021 at the earliest. With as much participation from the people as possible and with data available instead of reformulating all the data as per fresh surveys. Again, in spite of feeling let down and after much heated discussions, it was decided by the Core Committee of the GBA to continue our presence in the Task Force, under protest.

Finally, after umpteen frustrating meetings, a final draft was drawn up by the Task Force of the procedure to be adopted which, while not being ideal, was thought to be best for the time being and one which would give the people of Goa a fair chance of participating in the Regional Plan process.

On the day preceding the Task Force meeting, a meeting was held of the Core Committee of the GBA, which decided that, since the procedure was not exactly as desired, GBA should not give its assent to the plan drawn up. The GBA then withdrew from the Task Force.

MEDIA VERSION

BY that evening, all heavens broke loose. By the next morning, the press gave 15 versions and speculated on what was happening. And ever since then, things haven’t been the same. The government went ahead without the participation of the GBA and finalised the procedure to draw up the Regional Plan 2021.

Given these circumstances, the GBA Core Committee did an admirable job of limiting the damage done and even encouraged people all over Goa to participate in the process through the respective panchayats and gram sabhas and be extra vigilant and not allow vested interests to lay Goa to waste. What did the government do? Sabotage. The basic demand that all of Goa be brought under the purview of the Regional Plan, with no exceptions, was changed. Taleigao village and certain other areas were not allowed to participate in the process of the Regional Plan. ODPs were hurriedly drawn up in some areas. Articles 16 and 16A were modified to allow the government to sneak in any projects it wanted.

All this was protested against by the GBA and by the people of Goa to no avail. Vague promises were made that only absolutely essential projects would be done under the modified 16 and 16 A amendments. And, in the meantime, another draconian bill was introduced - one that sought to empower the panchayat secretary to override the elected panchayat and gram sabha of the village. Again, protests had to be held to force the government to change its stand. And, as if that was not enough, the government passed an ordinance to sabotage a Supreme Court judgement to demolish an illegal structure. What a shame…

TREACHERY

IN spite of this treachery, the patient people of Goa went ahead with the process of participating in the drawing up of the Regional Plan 2021 and the GBA was active in helping whoever needed help to work out their area plans. Now that the procedure of collecting plans from the panchayats is over - many have done a proper job, many have not submitted their plans, many claim that the plan submitted by elected committees have been changed and sarpanchas have sent their own plans - the Town and Country Planning Department has been sitting on them. The Department officials now claim that it has documented all the inputs it has received (7000-8000 in number), however the finalisation of the Regional Plan 2021 is nowhere in sight.

What is the GBA stand on all these happenings? As I understood in the last meeting held and from minutes of the last few meetings held, it is very clear that it demands that the whole of Goa, including all the ODPs, should come under the purview of the Regional Plan 2021, as mandated by the Task Force formed by the government. It demands that 16 and 16A, as amended, should be restored to its original form. And since the Committee formed to finalise the Regional Plan 2021 is taking so long to finalise it, it should - on emergency basis - study ALL the suggestions that have come in and pass orders to all the concerned government departments that NO PERMISSIONS should be given to allow any projects on eco-sensitive areas should also be clearly demarcated and this should include fields, saltpans, slopes, forests, CRZ zones, ponds, parks, and the list is exhaustive… all should be marked No-Development Areas and preserved.

The one undeniable result of the GBA revolution, as I see it, was the awakening of the people of Goa, the other was for people to realise that if we all come together in all our areas, we can make the authorities do the correct thing. People have been awakened, they have come forward, they are taking interest and have proved in gram sabha after gram sabha that we will not keep quiet and suffer in silence.

SUSTAINED

HOWEVER, it has to be a sustained, vigilant and continuous effort. Let us not be discouraged by setbacks, frustrations and hopelessness. If we want a better life for ourselves and our children, it is up to each and everyone of us to prepare for a continuous campaign.

And, what about the GBA? Well, the GBA is made up of people like you. In fact, it is you who make up the GBA. You are needed to sustain the effort that was started. More sincere hands will make the work easier and there is a daunting, long and continuous effort necessary to make sure these people that we elected to safeguard our land and others in government service, who are paid their salaries from our money, give us our rightful demands, provide us all the facilities that we pay for, do their job diligently and don’t take us for a ride and loot our money till their personal coffers are full.

Now, the GBA - and by that I mean all the good people of Goa - should regroup, take stock, look inward, look outwards, look forward, look for fresh faces, ideas and innovations. It is every Goan’s movement and is open to all suggestions - along with your participation for the sake of all of us. And, most important of all, let us all be vigilant of violations that are happening in our areas and stop them by taking all necessary steps since damage once done is often irreversible and will ruin our Bhangarachem Goem for the people of Goa. What’s the catch phrase? Aam aadmi and aam aurat.