The State government is yet to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Centre, but a storm of sorts seems to be brewing over nationalization of rivers. The Congress and Goa Forward have fired warning shots and an attempt is underway to turn it into an
issue for the forthcoming elections. As is always the case, the less people know about the issue; the less information there is in the public domain, easier it is to turn an issue into an election campaign. Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar has gone on record to say that all stakeholders will be taken into confidence before an MoU is signed with the Centre. In Goa that could be an endless exercise. Goa’s rivers form part of a Central plan to nationalize 106 rivers
in order to optimize use for transportation. The Allahabad“
Haldia stretch of the Ganges“Bhagirathi“Hooghly river system
was the first to be nationalized in 1986 and since then five
more river systems were added. In 2008, a total river-canal
stretch of 588 km covering parts of
Odisha and West Bengal were declared
as national waterway 5. In
June 2014, a Rs 2,000 crore plan was
launched for development of this
river stretch. The Centre’s plan is to
maximize use of rivers for transportation
in order to reduce the burden
on land-based transportation. The
total cargo moved by inland waterways
in 2013-14 was around 18 million tonnes. This figure was
as high as 74.2 million tonnes in 2010-11, thanks to iron ore
movement from the jetties to the port in Goa.
The State has successfully used and will continue to use its
rivers to transport iron ore, sand and other minerals. The question
that arises is, how will nationalization of rivers benefit the
State? Will Goa lose control over movement of ships, barges,
ferries and fishing vessels in the rivers? All this will be clear
once the MoU is signed, but statements emanating from the
government indicate that the State will retain control over rivers
but only pass on the burden of development works to the
Centre, which means all tenders for dredging and other development
works will now be floated by the Inland Waterways
Authority of India. If the arrangement between the State and
the Centre is similar to the one that governs national highways,
then there is no need to beat the drums of protest. Goans freely
use the NH17 and NH4A and NH17B even though these highways
are controlled by the National Highway Authority of India.
Nationalisation of waterways could be similar with Goans
enjoying free movement in the rivers with the Centre bearing
the cost of development. Hence, there is need for greater application
of mind or Goa could miss a golden opportunity. However,
the terms and conditions in the MoU need to be carefully
whetted and made public before the State government inks an
agreement.
