Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was at pains to explain the Memorandum of Understanding that the State government through the Captain of Ports seeks to sign with the Inland Waterways Authority of India and the Mormugao Port Trust which he says will govern who has what powers over the six Goan rivers that have been declared as rivers of national importance for navigation.
The crux of his argument is that the central government has already enacted the National Waterways Act (amended version in 2017) and it being a fait accompli, there is little he as Chief Minister of the State could do about a central government's law. By his argument, he is doing the next best thing -- to sign a MoU as is being done which will ensure that the State Government's Captain of Ports Department will retain control.
And then there's the usual argument that the Centre will provide funds, that the State government would not otherwise have the resources to generate and that the State will benefit in the long run.
However, the arguments just do not add up and they leave a crucial question unanswered -- Why? What is it that made the central government choose six rivers in Goa? When were the rivers chosen and on what basis? Would the state government be keen on dredging the rivers in Goa for dredging sake without having any plans?
If you want to improve navigation, the obvious question would be: for what purpose? To transport tourists? Passengers? Sand? Ore? Coal? These are among several unanswered questions.
There is no doubt that some of the notified rivers in Goa especially that of the Sal and Mapusa rivers do need dredging. This is mainly because they have their origins in the hills of Bardez and Salcete, respectively, unlike the others that originate in the Western Ghats.
The other rivers are already navigable and continue to be used for transporting iron ore and coal.
The reasons given so far have been that these rivers can host jetties which can then be used for promotion of hinterland tourism, high-end ferry services between villages and towns in Goa and the like. But it doesn't explain why the government is so keen on pushing forward this project. The ‘real' reason is something that has continued to remain unexplained.
The arguments also do not add up, when one considers that if funds are the only thing that the state government is lacking, why change the legal status of the rivers just in order to access the funds. After all Goa has not just now, but also in the past received unconditional funds from the Centre and does not explain why the central government would set conditions this time around.
And lastly, by Parrikar's arguments, does Goa have to blindly accept everything that the central government decides just because we have only two MPs representing us in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha with the SC being the only realistic option? If that is true, 50 years after Liberation, does the thought not linger that we are ruled from the ‘outside'?
