Goa Agriculture: The fallacy of the Policy
Goa's conversion-banning agri policy, finally a conviction in Irish backpacker's rape and murder and Digambar Kamat goes scot free. This and more in this week's edition.
Hi folks,
It’s now mid-February and the heat (and dust) is already upon us. If you are one of those who remembers February as a cool month, join me in mourning the death of bearable weather as I look forward with a sense of anticipation (and trepidation) to the upcoming urrak/summer season.
There are a fair few things that have happened this week, three of which I’d like to mention. The state government formally unveiled its agriculture policy, Vikat Bhagat was (finally) convicted for the rape and murder of Irish tourist and surprise, surprise, former Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat was discharged in one of the main cases of illegal mining lodged against him.
Let’s get into it then.
Goa Agriculture: The fallacy of the Policy
The Goa government -- Chief Minister Pramod Sawant flanked by Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik and others unveiled the Goa Amritkal Agriculture Policy -- a vision document “dedicated to creating an ecosystem that supports farmer welfare, ensures fair labour conditions, and empowers the youth to engage in agriculture.”
According to the document, the policy is focussed on “protecting Goa's valuable agricultural heritage while combining it with modern farming techniques” and advertises a shift towards vertical farming, aquaponics, agriculture combined with tourism, etc.
But undoubtedly, the highlight of the policy is it’s ‘ban’ on conversion of ‘fields.’ Fields locally known as morod (terraced fields), ker (flatlands) and khazans (reclaimed mudflats) protected by tide gates or manos -- usually used for growing paddy shall be ‘prevented; from being converted.
The way the chief minister explained it, he said that even if the Town and Country Planning Department ‘converts’ the land into settlement either claiming it is a case of an error under section 17(2) or based on a request by the land owner under section 39(A), they will need an NOC from the agriculture department “which will not be given.”
This leaves a fair few questions. Firstly: Is it banned? Or is it not banned? If it is banned, why is it that there appears to be a loophole that seems to suggest the land could yet be converted after an NOC from the agriculture department?
While we understand that the agriculture department may currently not be in the mood of handing out such NOCs, who’s to say that the same attitude will continue into the future. The discretion of grant or not grant such an NOC may end up being a ‘weapon’ in the hands of the right minister to get his meter up and running.
Also, is the policy a law? And can it supersede a law that has been amended by the legislative assembly that says a lush green paddy field that you can see with the evidence of your eyes and ears is in fact a ‘mistake’ on the planning map and should be ‘correctly’ called a settlement zone?
More than any of the above, let’s not miss the forest for the trees. Let’s not pretend the threats to Goa’s paddy fields began with the wholesale land use changes currently ongoing in the state.
For instance, one doesn’t need a policy to tell the state administration that even as we speak, fields -- that already have a high degree of legal protection -- have been encroached upon for all kinds of activities -- from scrap yards, to chicken shops, and yards selling cement blocks, to restaurants, liquor shops and what have you. Just take a drive through any village of Bardez and you will see the state of the once green paddy fields. From Guirim, to Parra and Saligao to Sinquerim, fields are used less for agriculture and more for commercial activities. Even the stretch from Mapusa to Panjim that several officers drive past on a daily basis now has tyre shops, furniture shops, vehicle repair garages, etc.
If you are serious about saving Goa, that’s the first place you should start. But then, Goa has never been as lawless as it currently is. Ultimately it boils down to the messaging coming from the top.
When the Goa government, then headed by chief minister Manohar Parrikar, took up the task of constructing the 3rd Mandovi bridge, the precasting yard was set up in faraway Dhargal, despite the additional cost, since no other usable land was considered available. At the time using the fields of Gurim/Socorro wasn’t even considered an option.
Cut to the present, and the dispensation has no qualms about rolling over acres of fertile paddy fields to establish a precasting yard for the Porvorim flyover -- land that will likely never return to agriculture.
The proof of the pudding, they say, is in the eating.
Finally, justice has been served…
It was joy, relief and most importantly a sense of closure for the family of Danielle McLaughlin, who for eight years hoped and then despaired, before hoping again and despairing again as they awaited the outcome of the long drawn trial.
Vikat Bhagat, was found guilty and convicted for the rape and murder of the Irish backpacker back in 2017.
Come to think of it, the trial of Vikat Bhagat, who was arrested within hours of her brutalised body being found, would have gone on even longer, were it not for the High Court which in October last year ordered that the trial be completed in one year.
Judges changed, prosecutors got transferred, Bhagat played truant and most of all, the Covid pandemic brought proceedings to a halt for nearly a year, even as the family of the victim impressed upon the diplomatic staff to raise the matter with Indian authorities about the slow pace of the trial.
All’s well that ends well, they say, but amid all the din, what is often forgotten is just how brutal the crime was.
It must be remembered that Danielle was someone who had fallen in love with India and Goa in particular. To have that love and trust betrayed in the most gruesome manner is horrific just to think of.
Her body was found with her head and face smashed, covered and blood and disfigured to the point that she had to be identified by her body tattoos. She had multiple injuries as did her attacker, pointing to a life and death battle in which she was assaulted with a beer bottle as well as strangled.
Understandably, the family was apprehensive ahead of the verdict. And not without reason. Memories of the initial acquittal of the two accused in the death of Scarlett Keeling by the trial court that followed a police probe that initially sought to close the case as an accidental drowning would have clearly been on the back of their minds.
But in hindsight, it turns out the police had a pretty strong case, based not just on the ‘last seen theory’ but also had medical evidence in the form of blood stains on the scooter he was using, blood stains, her hair and injuries on his body as well as crucially a DNA match, which meant the onus was on him to explain what happened to her.
The full truth will be known once the copy of the judgement is out, but for now I’ll leave you with this excerpt from the statement the family issued after the verdict.
We had Danielle in our lives for 28 years and we wish we could have seen the women she would have become but because of Vikat she will forever be 28. We will never see her smile or hear her laugh and we appreciate all that they have done for our campaign fighting for this outcome. We have lost nearly 8 years of our lives fighting for Danielle and we are so thankful that we now can start grieving her immeasurable loss. She was so much more than a daughter, sister and best friend. She lit up every room she entered and touched the lives of all who met her. She brought so much good into this world and he so quickly took her from this world with his cruelty. We are so thankful that everyone involved in her case has treated her like their daughter and us with how much they have cared and fought so tirelessly for her. We are so grateful to have been able to be here for the verdict and to see the Goa that Danielle loved so much. Danielle’s truth has finally been heard.
I however, must add a disclaimer. As per the law, we are not allowed the disclose the names of children or women victims in cases of sexual assault because of the stigma it can bring upon the family. However, in this case, her family has fought a brave fight, not shying away from being in the forefront of the battle and has said they have done so to raise awareness of the cause. Given that the name of the victim is already well known, I’ve felt no purpose is being served in keeping her anonymous.
Digambar Kamat: Clean as a Whistle
Former Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat was on last Monday discharged in a case of illegal mining that he along with several others was facing.
This should come as no surprise, not just because Kamat is now in the BJP, but because the BJP, which rode to power in 2012 alleging a massive 25,000 crore scam in Goa’s mining industry has since then made no serious effort to probe such a scam and instead has rolled out the red carpet to the same miners to resume mining a decade later, as if nothing had happened.
But what was the case Kamat was facing? So the Goa mining scam was made up of (at least) three parts: Deemed extensions, condonation of delay and environmental violations.
What this case specifically dealt with was the condonation of delay.
Here’s what it means. Back in 1987 the Union Government enacted the Goa Daman and Diu (Abolition of Concession and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act, 1987. Via this act all iron ore mining concessions granted by the erstwhile Portuguese regime were ‘abolished’ and declared to be mining leases under the Indian law i.e. the Mines and Minerals Development Act, 1954 with a validity of six months since the date of enactment of the law.
The leaseholders would then have to apply for a renewal of their leases which would be decided in accordance with the provisions of the MMDR Act. Those who did not apply for renewals saw their leases lapse. And that was how it was until Goa’s mining sector began to see a boom in the 2000s.
In an effort to ‘reactivate’ the long dead leases, Digambar Kamat as mines minister and Chief Minister allowed people claiming to be acting on behalf of the old concession holders who failed to renew their leases, to apply for renewal that had expired in 1988. A delay of nearly -- in some cases more than -- two decades was condoned and the leases were revived.
The Justice M B Shah Commission, that probed the Goa mining scam, found that the State government had neither the powers, nor the authorisation to condone such a delay and allow the revival of mining leases. Yet, he did it and in the process 42 mining leases were revived -- going a long way in massively expanding Goa’s mining industry and giving us the hellscape that was Goa’s mining belt between 2002 and 2012.
But I guess, they are all clean and spotless now.
That’s all I have for you this week. Make sure you comment or write in, should you have something, anything to say.
I would also invite you to contribute via sending in your views, especially on a subject you know something about, and I will be happy to include it as part of the newsletter, just as I have included Kaustubh’s take above.
You are also welcome to write in with leads and tip-offs or anything that you think might be interesting enough to include here.
As always, please share and help spread the word.
Until next week, then. Tchau!
I truly agree and appreciate the way you have put it,the governments AAP policy looks like it's another Jumla in the making.
If the government feels so much for the Goan agriculture land than by now it could have saved thousands of acres of rich and fertile area's.
If the governments intent is clear let it first begin by converting the areas already converted to settlement to agricultural land.
The new Agriculture Policy seems more, to tame Rane a bit, rather than of much of any consequence.