Why is Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral going out of his way to hold public presentations of the old Coastal Zone Management Plan? By now, it is loud and clear that the people of Goa are not interested in what Cabral is dishing out. The scars of the atrocious draft plan are still showing, which is why Cabral is facing flak from the people. Amid this huge wave of distrust, Cabral is only trying to swim against the tide.
In Margao, the public outcry of Salcete villagers, the ensuing tension and chaos and the abrupt end to the presentation brings to the fore some key arguments. If these presentations have nothing to do with the draft plan, why were they necessary in the first place? Why is Cabral inviting the wrath and fury of people and activists when he could have very well routed this entire exercise through the local bodies? Is this a mandatory prelude to the greater plan?There is no doubt that Cabral’s intention is genuine, but unfortunately, the damage done by the draft presentation is huge and no amount of heroics can undo that. The crucial coastal plan exercise has backfired and nothing is going to charm the people of Goa at this juncture. If the 2011 coastal plan is the base plan for discussions and debates and forms the basis of the new draft, the process should only begin with the panchayats and local bodies.
The fury witnessed at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao and the earlier hearings at Pernem, Canacona and Sanquelim goes to show that there are no two ways about drawing the plan. By blaming NGOs and a section of politicos, Cabral is inadvertently accepting that people chose to go with them and shunned statements made by government representatives.
Also, the Margao hearing exposes a lack of foresight and seriousness on the issue. Despite being aware two weeks prior that the Ravindra Bhavan venue was not available, Cabral decided to proceed with the presentation in the foyer. Salcete has in the past shown tremendous gumption in fighting land issues with people rising above all divides. A huge turnout and a highly charged environment were expected. Against this backdrop, authorities have gone ahead with the presentation very casually and have taken grave risks.With an informal seating arrangement where people were nearly at an arm’s distance of Cabral and other officials, a law and order situation could have erupted any time. A slight provocation could have had disastrous consequences in view of the protests, shouting and booing that followed.The magnitude of protests and the fury is only becoming an embarrassment to the government. It has to dump all its initiatives of making these presentations. At this stage, let’s admit the fact that the ghost of the draft continues to haunt. A highly erroneous draft should have been first outrightly rejected before taking it to the people’s court.
It’s time Chief Minister Pramod Sawant make a formal announcement that the draft CZMP has been rejected, cancelled and buried. The CM must fix dates for village-wise presentations of the 2011 base plan, without involving any ministers. Let the new coastal plan draft begin with the people of Goa and not any minister or agency.
