PANAJI
Goa Forward Party General Secretary (Org) Durgadas Kamat challenged the BJP Government to come clean on the issue of the Major Ports Bill introduced by the Central Government that has created a state within a state. Mormugao Port Trust has been renamed as Mormugao Ports Authority under the Major Ports Authority Act (MPA 2021), which has led to serious legal implications undermining the authority of Goa over its own territory, said Kamat during a press conference on Sunday.
He said, “The GFP President Vijai Sardesai has been raising these issues of MPT’s harassment of locals time and again in the Vidhan Sabha. The BJP CM continued to reject and suppress his voice. Another issue that arose was that shacks on the beach have to seek permission from the MPT. Sardesai stood by the shack owners and demanded that the state had total jurisdiction and should issue permissions to shacks without MPT’s interference.”
This MPA Act clearly defines the fact that the Goa Government has no control over the MPT (now MPA) anymore. The MPA will not require permissions from State Pollution Control Board and other state government authorities for their activities, however polluting they may be.
“They have given an obstacle free path to Adani to dictate affairs on land that actually belongs to the people of Goa. This is not a Double Engine Government but an evil Triple Engine Government including the Central Government, an ineffective and untruthful State Government and the new MPA. Local bodies and departments of the state will now have no jurisdiction over MPA. Vascokars and the rest of Goa should be prepared for more coal dust in their faces if the BJP comes back to power in Goa,” stated Kamat.
“The local fishing community and traditional coastline dwellers of Goa will suffer miserably as the brand-new MPA will start possessing coastlines from Raj Bhavan to Zuari to Betul,” Kamat said and added that this bill is the first step towards making Goa a Coal Transportation Hub. Both the engines of the BJP Government have been attempting to do this since long and want to finish the job as they can see defeat in the face.
Kamat said that CM Pramod Sawant has claimed that he had written to Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on 17 June 2021 on this issue, after opposition leaders objected to this bill in the assembly. “He should now clarify about what happened and whether the matter was taken seriously by the Central Government and whether he had received a reply. Goans have a right to know,” Kamat added.
