The government took the wind out of the Quitol sail by denying permission for today’s meeting called to oppose the defence exposition which, according to Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, will be held, come hell or high water. On Friday, Parsekar went to
Ground Zero to review preparations and get a first-hand feel of the tension that has been building up, for good or bad, time alone will tell. He refused to meet the leaders of the protest groups and there is a certain logic to this decision “ there is no point in talking to people whose minds have already been made up. With roughly a month to go before the high-tech equipment rolls in and is displayed in giant hangers for delegates from
over 60 nations to examine, there seems to be no turning back.
It’s almost like a fait accompli, and any decision to shift the
venue would leave India red in the face. No matter how one
looks at it, Quitol is set for an epic clash between the government
and villagers who are not entirely
united on the issue. The sarpanch
of the village seems to think
that the exhibition would be beneficial
to Goa, and so does the tourism
industry.
Agreed, at the start there was a
large element of secrecy but now
that the air has been cleared the issue
needs to be re-examined. First,
the land is owned by the GIDC, which means it has the right to
put it to good profitable use. Second, the initial suspicion that
the land would be handed over to the Defence Ministry has
been allayed with the government categorically stating that no
transfer of land would take place. Third, the assumption that
an aero show, which would involve construction of a 3 km runway,
would be held simultaneously, has been proved wrong.
Fourth, the belief that the exhibition would involve use of
ships which would pose a threat and disturbance to local fishermen
has also been proved to be untrue. All that will be on
display is naval equipment and that too in hangars on shore.
Last, the fear that roads would not be sufficiently wide is no
longer an issue as surveys have shown that equipment could
be routed through internal roads via Balli.
So, other than prestige and an anti-government agenda,
what really remains of the issue? What Goa seems to lack is
techniques for dispute resolution. If the matter is political in
nature and the opposition wants to use the issue to browbeat
the government there cannot be a solution. But the Defence
Expo seems to be a dispute between the residents of Quitol
and the government, with others “ activists and politicians “
fishing for an issue to espouse.
More often than not the economic and long term gains of a
policy decision are ignored and issues come to be dominated
by the immediate concern. There is no doubt that the exhibition
will bring economic gains for hotels in the vicinity, taxi
and coach owners and in the long run locals could also benefit
once the exhibition becomes regular.
One must also consider the idea of making Goa an exhibition
site for big players and the defence expo could kick-start
this effort. The only consideration that the State has to make
is whether it stands to gain more than it spends because the
defence expo must not be allowed to go the IFFI way where
we spend and spend and the only return is gauged in terms of
‘raising the profile of the State’ because there are no monetary
gains.
While the people have every right to question the government
on policy and protest if necessary, at some point disputes
need to be resolved and in this case it seems the government,
after a few false steps, has gone out of its way to clear the air.
The ball is now in Quitol’s court.
