THE invasion of swanky housing projects has been a reality since The Great Depression (perhaps earlier). And now they are taking over the Goan landscape. Here’s a quick 101 on the state of affairs in India’s soon-to-be erstwhile paradise.
On May 17, 100 Goan activists were jailed and subsequently released for peaceful protests against the lack of development in the state. Several days later, PWD minister Churchill Alemao said, at a press con,” Whenever a construction project starts, Goans here start squealing like pigs.”
He was defending the construction of a mega luxury housing project in Carmona. Or rather his concept of development (agriculture and sustainable jobs be damned). According to a report in TOI dated May 26, 600 flats will be built in the small village and this was being vociferously opposed by Goa Bachao Abhiyan, an umbrella NGO for several protesting groups, and the Village Groups of Goa (VGG).
The minister’s audacious remark (not the first by any measure) inspired a symbolic protest by the the VGG; they clothed a pig in finery and paraded it around in the rear of the pick-up truck.
“Since Churchill Alemao called us Goans pigs, he should also tell us who feeds a pig like this? Does the mega construction company feed this pig? Or does Churchill feed it?” VGG spokesperson Zarinha da Cunha demanded to know.
To put things in perspective, Goa is currently “being developed” through a spate of swanky housing projects (a la the ones in Gurgaon and Noida). I do not begrudge corporates for initiating these projects. They are in it for the moolah, and that is what they shall continue doing.
But what is the government doing to regulate the distribution of electricity, water and other amenities between the old houses and the new developments? And where does preservation of the environment, the role of agriculture and creation of sustainable jobs in the state, feature in this development scheme?
My deceased uncle spent a lot of time tending his precious paddy fields courtesy of which we had some quality unpolished rice on our lunch and dinner table. But the cost of labour proved too costly and he eventually gave up.
This is the eventuality in most cases. In fact the government is buying off land from people who can longer afford to till their field (which now lies idle) and in turn selling it to corporates, when in effect they must be encouraging and helping people to cultivate.
Housing projects and other types of projects, present a nice little opportunity for the politicos to fill their coffers. On one hand they are corrupt, but on the other they are also downright lazy and reticent about creating sustainable development, which needs thought, ideas, creativity, strategies, all things they are ill-equipped for. Of course, dubious intent defeats all purposes, first.
This country is being invaded by housing projects (some claiming to be eco-friendly) at lightening speed, and this will continue. I recall living in one of these swanky housing projects in Noida for eight months in 2009. The reason: they have power backup and it’s a gated community (advisable for single, career women in Noida). What the government of UP cannot provide, this corporate can, but at a ridiculously pretty price. I had to cough up Rs 2,000 per month so that I could sit in an air-conditioned room in the peak of summer. It wasn’t instant power back-up, and the electricity from the back-up took around 30 seconds to activate. My friend Alan who crashed at my house for a bit, once counted the number of powercuts in a day: 20!
2 K was pure maintenance. The electricity bill was extra. I wonder how the average Jo survives with such power shortages, not to mention the hard water that flows through his tap everyday. The latter corrodes your utensils, makes your hair fall and destroys all your clothes. You are ill-advised to drink it lest you want your intestines to be corroded, too.
But now I am digressing.
This international tourist destination is suffocating under the debri of housing projects and illegal constructions being erected dangerously close to the sea. What’s even sadder is that when Goans protest peacefully no one takes notice. But when protests get violent, it sets off a media frenzy and the government announces some knee-jerk measures to remedy the situation.
I hope the Indian media and the international media take notice of this travesty and reports on it with a vengeance, before it is too late. After all Goa still brings back many a found memory for many, as also the prospect of getaway.
But soon memories are all we may have. And some enterprising writer may pen a book or rather a eulogy titled The Goa we all used to know and love.
written with alot of passion