Margao could do with a super school complex, but the question is will Davorlim give in without a fight? On Sunday, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar announced that the 1.5 lakh sq mts of land, acquired at Davorlim on the outskirts of the commercial capital, would be set aside for a school complex on the lines of the one at Bambolim. The education department wants to shift at least 12 schools, of which six are in a dilapidated condition, to this complex. This would effectively move nearly 12,000 students from the heart of the city to the suburbs. The aim is to reallocate older schools which have no space for expansion and decongest the city during the morning and afternoon sessions. The plan is no different from the one for Panaji schools which will eventually see the transfer of six schools to Bambolim. Presently two schools have already started functioning from the new complex.
The Margao plan has already run into trouble with the Davorlim panchayat and residents of the area raising objections. However, the good news is that the objections do not fall in the ‘not in my backyard’ category. Secondly, they are not being articulated by NGOs who prefer to object first and think later. It is a genuine resistance based on a simple principle “ what about us?
The panchayat and people of Davorlim have rightly placed their finger on the neglect shown by the state government to their village. Some years back the panchayat had demanded 5,000 sq mts of land for a garbage segregation centre, but the matter was placed in the cold storage by the government. A demand for 5,000 sq mt of land for the Holy Cross chapel is also pending. Lastly, residents are worried that allocation of the land for a school complex would deprive the village of residential areas for future expansion.
These are all genuine demands and the government must provide answers before going forward with its plan to build a school complex. Legally speaking, the land has been acquired by the government and hence it is the present owner. But any attempt to push the plan through without taking concerns of Davorlim residents on board would lead to bad blood and even delay of the project.
Moving schools out of the cities in order to facilitate expansion of educational facilities makes sense. King’s School and Manovikas are instances of educational facilities moving out of the city for the same reason. However, traffic decongestion falls into the grey area. By shifting schools the government is merely transferring congestion from one area to another. Only two of six schools have moved to Bambolim and parents are already complaining about congestion. It is not impossible to imagine what will happen to Davorlim when 12 schools move there. Margao might breathe easy, but Davorlim could sink with the additional traffic.
In a way, the decision to move schools out of the city represents the political failure on the art of the government and city fathers to re-organise traffic. While Panaji has had a plethora of plans, Margao has at least one, but no political leader or municipality has displayed the will to implement traffic plans and this is the real reason for congestion, not schools. Unless Panaji and Margao work out effective traffic plans and implement them with an iron hand city roads and streets will continue to overflow with vehicles and nullify all the gains made by moving schools to the outskirts.
