Thousands of people across faiths congregated at Old Goa to pay obeisance to St Francis Xavier, a saint revered across the world and considered as the guardian of the people of Goa by the faithful. On the day of the feast, the discomfort and distraction were clearly visible as the one question that was constantly knocked on everyone’s mind: will the illegal structure within the heritage site be razed.
Ironically, TCP Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar gave a false sense of security to the protesters citing a December 2 order from the deputy town planner that requested the Old Goa Panchayat to initiate action against the construction under the Village Panchayat Raj Act. It would be absurd to conclude that the TCP has asked the panchayat to proceed with demolition, which, given the complexities of the case, is going to be a long-drawn process involving show-cause notices and legal interventions. Let’s not forget that the structure has been given all permissions, and the onus will now be on the panchayat to establish fraud or misrepresentation of papers by the promoters. The TCP order is only a distraction that is being used to assuage the protesters.
While the process takes its course, the State must also probe deeper into an alleged fraud that is committed within the system. Archbishop of Goa and Daman Filipe Neri Ferrao’s message expressing solidarity with those against “obnoxious activities” in the heritage area, and calling out to authorities to refrain from acts and decisions that are illegal and detrimental to the preservation of the religious and heritage sanctity of Old Goa highlights the fact that illegality has been committed, disrespecting the hallowed precincts of the site.
We, however, fail to understand why our government is hesitant to take responsibility and ownership of these invaluable assets of the State. Apart from the demolition process, there must be an inquiry into the clearances issued by various departments. The government has to get to the bottom of this case and penalise those engaged in unholy compromises.
Ministers cannot rest on the comfort of revocation of technical clearance or a stop-work order from the panchayat. A clear lack of will is seen here. The BJP State President Sadanand Tanavade while maintaining that the law will take its course has expressed helplessness. He opined that someone should go to court and seek a demolition order. AICC official in charge of Goa Dinesh Rao has stated that the project promoters should themselves demolish the structure.
Let’s not forget that this is a State issue, and not a political one. The UNESCO-recognised site at Old Goa is precious to the State. The issue has brought a bad name to the government departments and has exposed a completely hollow and insensitive system. No system in the world would allow such rampant exploitation of heritage and nowhere would the government of the day watch over it with such disregard.
The Church has stood in solidarity with those protesting against illegality, and it is time that entire Goa stands together in support of our heritage regardless of the loose assurances. The Old Goa pilgrimage of our lawmakers and representatives would be meaningless if they fail to hear and understand the cries of our common citizens.
