The stage has been set. The die has been cast. Today at Quitol residents will gather to essentially reiterate their stand against 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.
