Goa could be one of those rare places in the world where a bandh is held to protest the judgment of a court that is for the people, for the environment and for keeping our conscience alive.
The High Court of Bombay at Goa delivered a 14-page judgment on Valentine’s Day that, among other aspects, ordered the sealing of 175 structures within the ambit of Anjuna Panchayat.
Part of the judgment reads: “By issuing such NOCs, the Panchayat prima facie is facilitating, if not encouraging, the use of these structures for commercial purposes even though such structures have no permission from GCZMA under the CRZ notification, no permissions from the Planning Authorities under the Town and Country Planning Act 1974.”
A perusal of the judgment indicates that permissions were given to 175 structures which had flouted rules in eco-sensitive areas just to make money.
A perusal of the judgment indicates that permissions were given to 175 structures which had flouted rules in eco-sensitive areas just to make money.
The call for a bandh was given by a few individuals – though the real picture can be seen through them – to protect the locals, who they claimed, would be the losers due to the judgment.
The 175 structures are on land that once belonged to Goans and most must still be, but were all built and developed out of proportion, by individuals from outside the State for whom Anjuna is a good land for not everything good – drugs being the main.
Plenty of money has been spent on building monstrosities, where in reality, houses with small extensions could be accepted, and in doing so a lot of hands needed to be greased and that is where the buck stops – at the door of the village panchayat.
That money buys souls is a well-known adage in Goa, with people from the North of India blinding people from a once peace-loving land, now trying to make peace with themselves, in front of altars where once rested divinity.
Plenty of money has been spent on building monstrosities, where in reality, houses with small extensions could be accepted, and in doing so a lot of hands needed to be greased and that is where the buck stops – at the door of the village panchayat.
There is no need of any judgment to surmise that a local would flout rules or build structures flouting all laws. The simple truth is that outsiders have a hand in all, if not most, of these structures.
To build a house for himself, a Goan needs to pay through the covers today and that is because the fashion started when we leased our places with a promise to get the necessary permissions for all the illegalities with a price.
Most thought, and perhaps still think, that it is best to make hay when the sun shines, giving little thought to what to do when the storm comes and this is the predicament of the people who built the 175 structures on our pristine land.
If CRZ rules have been flouted in Anjuna, they have been flouted in other places along the coastal belt too, and that explains the presence of prominent people trying to assuage the feelings of protestors in Anjuna.
If CRZ rules have been flouted in Anjuna, they have been flouted in other places along the coastal belt too, and that explains the presence of prominent people trying to assuage the feelings of protestors in Anjuna.
Obviously, talks of ordinances to help the people of Anjuna will surface, because if an ordinance can help people in Anjuna it can help people in Calangute too. The mathematics is that simple.
People from all walks will attempt to dabble and swim out pretending to have a solution when in reality they are there to benefit in one way or the other.
Obviously, talks of ordinances to help the people of Anjuna will surface, because if an ordinance can help people in Anjuna it can help people in Calangute too. The mathematics is that simple.
Otherwise, the panch members of Anjuna Panchayat and the elected representatives who were present during the bandh should explain how none of them could help when the villagers of Anjuna begged that noise pollution be stopped in the village.
At that time, meetings were held, promises were made and before the protestors could reach home loud music could be heard all over. There was no call for a bandh then, no call for restraint whilst music played loudly, simply because notes flowed and these were not necessarily musical notes.
The call for a bandh against a High Court judgment has shown the depths we have descended to. Anjuna is known for drugs. Drugs that have snatched many young lives.
From Monday, Anjuna is going to be known for a drug called money, which till now cannot be curtailed by any Act because it is enjoyed by those for whom divinity is a joke.
