OLD GOA
The residents of Corlim and surrounding villages have spoken. And they have spoken loud and clear: no more chemical manufacturing unit in Corlim, no more suffering of the people, no more living in constant fear, and a better and safe environment for the future generation.
If the government does not stop Deccan Fine Chemicals from taking over Syngenta chemical manufacturing unit, then local MLA Pandurang Madkaikar has warned of a bigger and larger agitation which will involve people from the entire Cumbarjua constituency as well as from other parts of Goa, leading to a Morcha to the Assembly complex. A coordination committee comprising prominent people will also be appointed to chalk out future course of action, he stated.
Addressing a gathering of about 200 villagers who had assembled outside Syngenta’s unit on Sunday morning, Madkaikar stated that the people of Corlim and surrounding villagers have suffered and tolerated enough, and now it is time for the chemical processing unit to shut down.
“If Syngenta wants to close down, let it close down but we will not allow any other company to takeover the unit,” Madkaikar thundered while asking the government to takeover the land and instead use it for bringing in good projects like IIT, IT, educational institutions, etc.
“Otherwise, the government should hand the land back to the farmers from whom it was grabbed so that they can use it for farming,” he added.
Madkaikar further said when the land was sold to Ciba in 1969, a clause was inserted wherein it was clearly stated that if the company is unable to sustain and wishes to close down, then it should handover the land back to the government.
“Since Syngenta has stated that it is not viable for them to run the unit any longer, the government should step in and takeover the land and use it for a good purpose,” he informed.
“If a multinational company like Syngenta is not in a position to profitably run the unit, how would an individually owned company like Deccan Fine Chemicals be able to profitably run the unit,” questioned Madkaikar while stating that he smells of a land scam in the entire episode, wherein the new company would run the unit for a few years and then shut it down.
“After that, Deccan Fine Chemicals who are also involved in real estate business will use the 7.5 lakh square metre land for commercial purpose,” he claimed while stating that it is nothing but a ploy to grab Goa’s land.
“A land which was sold for 25 paise/metre will then be up for grabs for several thousands of rupees/metre,” Madkaikar said.
He also said when the land was sold in 1969 to Ciba, the population of the area was less than 5000 and currently, it has grown to 50,000 with houses located in very close vicinity of the chemical unit.
“There is real danger to the life of the people if Deccan Fine Chemicals is allowed to takeover as its safety standards are very poor,” he informed.
On Industries Minister Mahadev Naik’s statement that CCI has given nod for the sale, Madkaikar said it does not mean that the Central government or the State government has given approval. “At some point of time, the State government will be approached for its nod, and that time it should reject the proposal,” he demanded.
Madkaikar also said since the time Ciba operated till now, villagers from Corlim and surrounding area have least benefitted in terms of employment of development of the village. “There are hardly a few villagers who are in direct employment with Syngenta,” he said while informing that the company is not even providing a few metres of land to widen roads at some places where it is needed.
