It’s too early to call the postponement of Nauxim marina hearing a victory, given the fact that it is only deferred. The collector’s order on the postponement of hearing makes no mention of the next date, neither does it even remotely link it to the finalization of the Coastal Zone Management Plan, a crucial aspect on which the issue is being debated. Further, the CZMP draft public hearing which was tentatively scheduled for November 5 has been postponed too. No fresh dates have been issued so far, leaving the possibility of marina hearing still coming up first wide open.
It appears that time out has been called by the government to chart out the future course and all eyes will now be on the CZMP public hearing. The government will be in a tight spot because all the five panchayats -- Taleigao, St Cruz, Siridao, Goa Velha and Agassaim have unanimously submitted that the Odxel to Agassaim stretch is a fish-breeding area, besides being a canoe parking space for traditional fishermen. It is to be seen how the Zuari estuary, which is reported to be rich in marine biodiversity with over 200 species of fish, is shown in the coastal plan. A coastal plan with such a demarcation will pre-empt any moves of developing the bay into a marina. The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) will be in a dilemma on this issue because Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral has entrusted the work of drawing coastal plans to the people of the land. On the other side, the government cannot further dilly-dally on coastal plans because these are linked to major projects along the coast.
The postponement of the marina hearing has a few takeaways. It was one of the rare occasions that four MLAs of the ruling BJP stood up in support of Nauxim villagers and opposed a project. St Andre MLA Francis Silveira, Cortalim MLA Alina Saldanha, St Cruz MLA Tony Fernandes, Panaji MLA Jennifer Monserrate and Atanasio Monseratte have shown solidarity with the people, four of which had jumped ship in the name of development. It was one of the rare occasions when politicians, present and past, irrespective of party affiliations have joined in to back the villagers. This show of unity once again highlights the fact that Goans will spare none when it comes to their land, not even the government.
The protests may have forced the government to change course, but when faced with an awkward situation where projects are sanctioned from the Centre, this will give enough room for Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to manoeuvre and make a point. While he holds the view that vested interests should not oppose developmental works of the State, the massive support to this agitation goes on to explain that the people of Goa are not ready to accept wholesale development sacrificing the traditional Goem on which rests our Goemkarponn.
