To Goanet - "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?" - John Maynard Keynes
In a recent post I admonished folks for their impatience with Manohar Parrikar and asked that he be given time before rushing to judgement. That was last week. The facts concerning Goa have changed this week, and I have changed my mind. In the same post, I had written about my one-on-one meeting with Manohar Parrikar in February, a couple of weeks before the election. We had agreed on every issue that I put before him except one: Mopa. I expressed my opposition to the proposed Mopa airport in no uncertain terms and briefly laid out my case. He was unmoved and equally upfront about it. He said he wanted Mopa to go ahead should he be voted to power. I pleaded that at the very least he should defer its consideration until he had first resolved the other sicknesses afflicting Goa. Now we read that Mopa is being pushed through at warp speed, whereas the issues of mining, land conversion, construction, and migrant influx don't seem to have received the priority or attention. We already saw how casinos got a sly nod. Is this why we (moi and some friends) were excited about Manohar's return to power? That he would take off from where the criminal Congress syndicate before him had left off? That he would try to out-Digu Digu? I am afraid that we are headed for more of the same. Shame on you, Manohar-bab. And shame on me, for believing in you. Our expectation was that given what Goa has been though the past 10-12 years, ravaged by indiscriminate construction everywhere (much of it illegal, later 'regularized' through bribes), Manohar would have the foresight to not only arrest the madness but roll it back. We thought that Manohar's idea of 'development' would be a radical departure - that it will not involve land and concrete. Instead, he has just handed the real estate & construction lobby its ultimate bonanza yet - Mopa. This is not your run-of-the-mill mega project. This is the MOTHER OF ALL MEGA PROJECTS. Projects of this scale ought to be carefully deliberated, its pros and cons clearly understood. Shouldn't Manohar have put the plan up in the public domain for scrutiny and sought counter-opinions? What is the rush, especially given its magnitude? Here in California, there is a mega project in play right now - a bullet train from San Francisco to Los Angeles. It was put on the ballot for the citizens to vote on, and it has gone through numerous iterations and revisions (and ultimately scaled down). When the Americans, masters of infrastructure and planning, proceed with such caution on large public projects, I wonder where Indians, champions of monumental screw-ups, get their confidence from. The case again Mopa is obvious: it will kill Goa as we know it. 1) One Airport Too Many We already have an airport at Dabolim, one that is roughly equidistant from Goa's northernmost and southernmost points. The Indian Navy has usurped it just like it has other prime Goan land. Goa has scarce land resources. It makes no sense whatsoever to build a second airport. This alone should settle it. Let the Navy move to Karwar or wherever. For decades the Navy has used the excuse of 'national defence' to muscle in and grab Goa's land (and simultaneously silence its critics). We ought to have called their bluff. 2) The 'Jobs for Goans' Carrot We are told it will create jobs for Goans, especially the poor people of Pernem and surrounds. Hogwash. The chief beneficiaries of this project will be politicians who stand to make a killing, and I have no doubt that the spoils will be shared between both BJP and Congress politicos, local and from Delhi. Sharad Pawar's cronies have bought huge tracts of land in the area and stand to benefit enormously from the secondary and tertiary 'development' that will accrue from Mopa. A spend of Rs 2500 crores to create employment opportunities for Pednekars and Goans? Is Manohar out of his mind? Goans were sold a similar fraudulent bill of goods in the 1980s and told that tourism would be their salvation. Today you cannot order a fish curry plate in Konkani at restaurants along the coast. All the tourist establishments are infested with non-Goans. Thanks to the muddle-headed tourism policy, what we got instead were ghatis shitting on our beaches, and Indian boors trashing them. Then again, walk around in any industrial estate. They are chock-full of ghati labour and non-Goans. Effectively Goans have instituted a jobs scheme for Bihar, Andhra, UP, Jharkhand, Orissa, W Bengal - you get the idea. Mopa will create jobs yes, but overwhelmingly for outsiders. This jobs promise is a pinch of coonshit. 3) Have Concrete, Will Pour The end result of Mopa will be to turn everything north of the Mandovi bridge into a concrete wasteland. Let me provide a visual aid: think of the hideously ugly stretch as you drive through Porvorim. Post-Mopa, that scene will extend right up to Patradevi. What is today pristine rural land in eastern Pernem will be split open for ugly concrete. Korgaon, Parsem, Virnoda, Alorna, etc - all quiet, agrarian and ancient village communities, will make way for ghatis and other non-Goans who will flood the area. Make no mistake about it. Secondary and tertiary construction projects will mushroom everywhere. Apartment complexes, hotels, you name it. In other words, Manohar couldn't have thought of a better plan to dispossess Goans and trash Goa's environment. I was in Mopa in February and spoke to some members of the Dhangar community, one of the traditional tribes and longtime residents of the area. There were uncertain about their future, But not to worry - they will be bought out with cash. They'll get peanuts, but they'll be pleased no doubt (these folks aren't used to wads of 500-rupee notes). Eastern Pernem is in need of economic uplift, yes. BUT MOPA IS NOT IT. Is Manohar's imagination so limited that he cannot think beyond land and concrete for economic advancement? I had suggested to the Chief Minister that in lieu of Mopa, he should declare the entire area a protected reserve and create a state park system, permanently out of bounds to any development. Same with many other places in Goa. This ought to have been our bequest to future generations of Goans. You need a certain quality of intellect for this type of thinking. Clearly, Manohar Parrikar does not appear to be in possession of it. 4) The Open Door Brothel Mopa is supposed to increase the number of tourists. WHY? Don't we have enough already? Has there been ANY reckoning about Goa's capacity to handle tourists? We should be looking to DECREASE the number, and augment the quality of tourist we attract. Goa is now a brothel-cum-toilet for any Indian to come in and shit. Why would you want more of this flotsam washing up here? 5) Dancing on Matanhy's Grave I know from conversations with Matanhy what he thought of Mopa. He said it sucked and he was against it. The last I spoke to him at length on the issue was in June 2008. I have no idea if he changed his mind since. I rather doubt it. I thought Manohar made a pledge to uphold Matanhy's vision for Goa and its environment. What happened? 6) To Infinity and Beyond The construction frenzy will not come to rest with Mopa. Take this to the bank, dear Goans. There will be more monster projects lined up. I can list one right now. Someone will soon have another bright idea and propose that we need to reduce the travel time from south Goa and Mopa. So what next? Why, of course the Sea Link project, you dummy. The dust won't settle (but the ghatis will) until every Goan apartment gets its own personal flyover outside the balcony. And finally, this horror scenario: Manohar gets Mopa going, is then toppled, and the whole shebang lands nicely in Viswajeet's lap! The unsanitized version is here - http://www.parrikar.org/misc/Mopa.pdf r