PANAJI
Former Bombay High Court judge Justice (Retd) Gautam Patel has called for a people’s referendum to scrap Section 39A of the Town and Country Planning Act, describing it as a threat to Goa’s environment and identity.
Speaking at the launch of the fifth edition of Fish, Curry and Rice, the Goa Foundation’s landmark book on the environment, Justice Patel minced no words. “Goa is not meat in a butcher’s shop which can be carved out and sold,” he declared.
He referred to Section 39A as the “gorilla in the room.”
The provision, he said, gives sweeping powers to the chief town planner while reducing citizens to “mere supplicants.”
Patel warned that Goa was on the brink of an environmental disaster.
“Section 39A is fundamentally wrong. The people of Goa must have the right to vote against this Section,” he said.
The retired judge also lamented that Goans were becoming “others” in their own State.
“Non-Goans are being allowed to take charge. Goa is being dismantled bit by bit. This is not alright,” he said.
Switching to Marathi, Patel congratulated tribal women of Chimbel for their 44 day fast against a proposed mall on green land.
“Your victory is not yours alone. You have served a warning to the government that they cannot ignore the citizens’ voice,” he told them.
Earlier, Justice Ferdino Rebello, who is leading the “Enough is Enough” people’s movement, hit out at Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for branding activists as “urban naxalites.”
Rebello said the Constitution gives every citizen the right to fight for the environment.
“People in power must choose their words carefully,” he cautioned.
The evening also saw the felicitation of 16 eco warriors who have fought relentlessly to protect Goa’s ecology. A moving tribute was paid to South Goa activist Diana Tavares, who passed away recently.
The event underscored a growing chorus against unchecked development and a demand for citizens to reclaim their voice in shaping Goa’s future.
