The indiscriminate dumping of construction and other debris in the eco-sensitive mangroves along both the national highway to Margao, the Ribandar bypass as well as the Ribandar causeway has been going on for a while now at a slow pace.
It's an activity that all those who travelled that route and cared to look would have noticed but nobody, much less the authorities cared to do anything about.
There can be nothing legal about dumping of debris in eco-sensitive mangrove lands and especially if its purpose is not clear and is not meant as part of a road expansion or similar project.
It is abundantly clear that the dumping of debris in this land is not just an accidental attempt to get rid of construction debris with nowhere else to dump but rather a deliberate attempt to reclaim land that would otherwise have no real estate value and suddenly give it status of a prime location right on the edge of the highway and in close proximity to the capital city of Panaji and lucrative neighbourhoods.
That the activity could continue unabated without any government authorities wishing to take it upon themselves to act against it speaks volumes of the nature of our government and society itself.
When the government itself has gone ahead and built a garbage sorting centre and composting unit by reclaiming a rich lagoon behind the Heera petrol pump and in utter disregard for all environmental norms, it speaks volumes of the government's own attitude towards the environment and land use plans. Such moves only embolden unscrupulous elements to carry forward their unscrupulous dumping by paying off local bodies, authorities and others. Similar dumping of debris is taking place in paddy fields across Goa especially in the lucrative villages of North Goa including Parra, Anjuna, Arpora, Calangute, Candolim and neighbouring areas as land owners clearly wish to monetise the land surface for real estate and business establishments rather than agriculture.
How does the government justify turning a blind eye to all this? The Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai's promises that a TDR policy will solve these woes appears like a distant dream at this moment. Sardesai himself admits that at the current rate of violations, by the time the TDR policy is implemented there will be nothing left to protect. It's time the minister begins taking his own words seriously.
