‘Enough is Enough’: Goans told to force legislators into action

Journalist Sandesh Prabhudesai explaining the idea behind the ‘Enough is Enough’ movement launched by Justice Ferdino Rebello at a meeting at Varca under the banner of GFPK.

MARGAO
Journalist Sandesh Prabhudesai has said that the ‘Enough is Enough’ movement has become a true people’s movement because it is rooted in firm solutions within the constitutional framework.

Addressing a programme organised by Goyche Fuddle Pilge Khatir at Varca, Prabhudesai urged Goans to force the 40 members of the Goa Legislative Assembly to pass the 10-point charter proposed by retired Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court Ferdino Rebello.

“Most crucial among these is the amendment to the Land Revenue Code to stop the sale of cultivable land to non-residents who have not lived in Goa for the last 30 years,” Prabhudesai said. He further called for an immediate ordinance to stop rampant hill cutting and forest development by adhering to official contour maps, and an end to the destructive alteration of Regional Plans through Sections 17(2) and 39(A).

Speakers issued a chilling warning that Goa is currently on the brink of extinction. Addressing a crowd of concerned villagers, they laid bare a grim reality of “mega-housing projects” and a total breakdown of law and order that threatens to turn native Goans into “slaves to rich new settlers”.

The meeting, organised with the proactive support of Varca residents, moved away from standard NGO presentations toward a “training session for the future”.

Youth leader Nash Carneiro set the tone by asking a haunting question: “What will be left for my generation?, emphasising that the drive was born from a refusal to let Goa be sold “piece by piece” while the community stays silent.

GFPK President Jack Mascarenhas shifted the focus away from traditional political “heroes”, instead calling for a new breed of citizen: The Gardener. “To save Goa, we need gardeners, not florists,” Mascarenhas explained that while a florist merely displays the beauty of a flower for profit, a gardener gets their hands dirty to nurture the roots and protect the soil. The movement emphasised that every Goan, from farmers and fishermen to lawyers and doctors, possesses a “unique ability” essential to this survival.

Policy and Protection Policy Architect and human rights activist Cyril A Fernandes presented a detailed historical overview, asserting that Goa deserves protection similar to those granted to North Eastern states and Jammu & Kashmir. Fernandes demanded the introduction of an Inner Line Permit (ILP) system by 2027 and the restoration of Goan control over Comunidade lands and the State’s six major rivers. He also advocated for the protection of jobs exclusively for Persons of Goan Origin (POGO).