Over 3,000 people converged at Old Goa on Sunday to stand up for Goa's heritage and protest against a structure near the St Cajetan Church within the UNESCO-recognized area. Speakers across the spectrum appealed to unite and rise beyond religious boundaries and fight the illegality, while some fiercely propagated the use of electoral mandate to send out a stern message.
While the people thronged Old Goa seeking answers, the government continued to keep the issue at a distance. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is yet to intervene, BJP President Sadanand Tanavade opines it is not a State issue and certainly not for the BJP to intervene, and North Goa MP feigns ignorance saying that the people have not approached him. The reluctance of ministers in engaging people over such a sensitive issue is baffling, more especially when a violation has happened in an area of the State which is protected and considered sacrosanct.
While controversy has been raging over the structure for quite some time, many questions have gone answered. Questions on how a storeroom of a 50 sqm area got all the required permissions to expand into a 397 sqm ground-plus-one storey structure. On how documents of a structure in Pernem were superimposed and approved as the project at Old Goa. On how the system failed on 'ground truthing' after the Town and Country Planning Department and Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority issued approvals for repair. On how work continued despite stop-work orders from the local office of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and on the intention behind moving Delhi ASI. It raises questions on how a structure precariously close to the river was allowed despite being in clear violation of CRZ norms. Lastly, it raises serious questions on the role of the panchayat, which is one of the authorities to give its stamp of approval.
A concrete structure of this magnitude under the guise of repairs and reconstruction cannot happen without the active collusion of authorities. It reflects that there is systemic manipulation with officials compromised. Sadly, a system that otherwise pounces on every inch of encroachment and illegalities by the ordinary citizen has set a horrible precedent eroding even the tiny bit of trust that the people had in it.
This is not about religion, but about Goa's heritage and hence by all means a State issue. Moreover, at a time when the State is caught in a political churn and parties milking every opportunity, the government's non-engagement only shows that it has conceded to greater powers. Time and again we have seen governments buckle under electoral pressure. In the recent case, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to apologise to the nation in a live address while announcing his decision to repeal the contentious three farm laws, an issue he defended resolutely for almost a year.
Time and again people have risen to protect the heritage and environment, especially when elected representatives and the government of the day have failed as guardians of our treasured heritage and environment. In the Old Goa case, it was the supreme duty of all authorities to ensure that they uphold Goa's identity in every sense of the word. There has been an overwhelming failure, and the deafening silence of those in power reeks of betrayal.
