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http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=19141&cid=13 While the whole of Pakistan was rejoicing at the reinstatement of Iftikhar Chaudhary in the post of Chief Justice and the resultant move towards the independence of the judiciary, I, as a Goan and an Indian, felt ashamed at the blatant attempt made by the Digambar Kamat government to subvert the Supreme Court’s judgement against Cidade De Goa. In any self-respecting democracy, the Attorney-General of such a government would have resigned. But with all the rich pickings at stake for this poor man, we can expect him to continue to be a true ‘Kantak’ in the flesh of justice. He could be forgiven for not understanding the importance of the independence of the judiciary for democracy to thrive. And what about the Timblos? Are there no men and women of honour left in these mine-owning dynasties? Is it so difficult for them to accept the verdict of the highest court in the land? They have fought hard for the last several years to preserve and protect their gains. But when the Supreme Court has given its verdict at the end of a fair, albeit lengthy, judicial process, should this verdict not have been accepted with grace? The Fomento Group had already shown its cowardice when filing a case against Sebastian Rodrigues in a Calcutta High Court rather than at a court in Goa. This ordinance comes as the last straw. The time has come for Goans to tackle the issue of mining and mine-owners altogether. There are now daily reports of illegal mining resulting in destruction of property and livelihood of innocent Goans. Large swathes of land have already been destroyed by mining, with very little economic benefit to ordinary Goans. The state’s debt burden is testimony to that, having risen to Rs 4500 crores or more. I sincerely hope that when this ordinance comes up for discussion in the State Assembly, the MLAs will, if they have the interests of Goa at heart, reject it. Otherwise, the politicians and the mining lobby will have to learn the hard way that when decent law-abiding citizens get angry, we have the courage of our convictions to transform public opinion from tolerance shown towards mining to complete rejection. Mere statements in newspapers proclaiming your love for Goa and its environment will not do. We need to see action. Demolition as ordered by the Supreme Court and withdrawal of the case against Seby would be a good start. Dr. Anil Desai UK *****