MARGAO
Just hazard a guess on the status of the zone of the agricultural fields acquired by the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) opposite the Margao railway station, where farmers reaped a bountiful harvest in the current season.
Well, smiles lit the faces of the beleaguered farmers as they reaped a good harvest of paddy as a mechanical harvester went about the job of harvesting the paddy in the last two days. Their joy, however, may be short-lived as the zone of the acquired paddy fields has been changed to a special commercial zone in the Outline Development Plan (ODP) for Margao.
In plain terms, the special commercial zone implies that the acquired fields have been converted into a commercial zone with a 300 floor area ratio (FAR), indicating that persistent pleas made by the farmers to revert the zone into a green zone and return their fields for paddy cultivation have not found favour with the government.
In fact, when the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) opened the Outlined Development Plan (ODP) for suggestions and objections, beleaguered farmers cultivating the fields opposite the Margao railway station too filed their suggestions with a plea to retain the status of the agricultural fields acquired by the GSUDA as a green zone.
The farmers were hoping against hope that the government would at least revert the zone to a green zone if not return the acquired fields to them for agriculture, but in vain.
It would be two decades now since GSUDA had forcibly acquired the paddy fields admeasuring 28,000 square metres, located opposite the Margao railway station for the avowed objective of setting up a transportation centre.
Notwithstanding the acquisition, farmers, mostly hailing from the Scheduled Tribes have been cultivating the fields non-stop over the last 20 years, successfully opposing moves to rehabilitate migrants on the lush green acquired fields and later stopped the Margao Municipal Council from dumping Sonsodo garbage on the fields.
Says farmer Claudius Dias, “We have been waging a sustained battle to demand change in the zone of the fields from commercial back to a green zone. These fields were cultivated by our ancestors and the occupation is continued by the present generation. We earn our livelihood on these fields. Reverting the zone of these fields to a green zone will not only facilitate agricultural activities but give a boost to the environment.”
The special commercial zone status bestowed on the GSUDA-acquired fields has only fuelled speculation as well as fears about whether the government has drawn up big plans to exploit the fields for commercial use. For, the draft master plan prepared by the GSUDA-appointed consultant had proposed vast commercial activities on the land opposite the Margao railway station.
