By Marcellus D’Souza

Mar 31: The people of Goa have proven that they have the will power and tenancy to take on the system. Villagers have successfully got the Pramod Sawant government to bend before their resolute determination to have the stretch which would flood their fields to accept their demand.

Pramod Sawant in the assembly yesterday announced the decision to build “the remainder 1.2 km of the Western Bypass on stilts”. This was the sole demand of the people of Fatorda, Navelim and Benaulim.

This fight has been taken up since 2015. But each government for the last 7 years have passed the buck. They moved the responsibility from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, who had proposed the project, to various other departments like the Public Works Department which is involved in the execution of the project. Land for the Western Bypass has been acquired since 2003 under the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 by invoking the infamous urgency clause.

The people of the villages did not buckle. They fought for their livelihood and their fields. Finally, when the 0.2 government of Pramod Sawant was given the crucial deadline of 2024, he gave in to the demand made by first time MLA Venzy Viegas (APP) and Vijai Sardesai (Goa Forward Party) who in November 2021, had led a protest in Fatorda against the filling of earth. He had then said, “I am firm on only having the bypass on stilts in these areas of Fatorda lest we have situations like we see in Chennai today (flooding)”. Earlier, in June 2017, the people of Navelim village, protested against the Western Bypass for National Highway-66.

The real hero of this decision is former Benaulim sarpanch Royala Fernandes who moved the NGT on the issue. It was on her plea that the NGT had set up a 10 member panel to go into the minute issues that constituted the plea and beyond.

The government was still not ready to accept the findings and dished out excuse upon excuse to stall the democratic process to come to a solution. Venzy Viegas then mooted the idea of taking up the issue to the Supreme Court. But he did not close the door on the political option.

He decided to seek an appointment with the CM to discuss the issue. “I am a new MLA, but I will try and get an appointment with the Chief Minister to impress upon him the need to build the bypass on stilts. It will be worth spending additional Rs 400 crore on building the project on stilts if it helps in saving the lives of the people. We will stress before the government and the High Court that the additional cost will be nothing when it comes to saving people’s lives,” he asserted.

His efforts paid off. Yes, at the end of the 2-day session of the assembly, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant made the announcement. But it did have a caveat, that the High Court of Bombay had passed an order to clear all obstructions with police protection. The project, he announced would be completed by October 2022 or within 7 months.

This decision will escalate the project cost by Rs. 70.53 crore but it will save the flood plains of River Sal as well as the wetlands of Benaulim and Seraulim. The picturesque Tolleaband Lake would be saved the burden of an ecological effect.

Soon after the results of the recently held polls were announced, the people came out in protest in as they feared their paddy fields would be destroyed due to the embankment being built by filling earth. Photographic evidence proved the point made by the protesters which showed young paddy saplings being crushed due to the discriminate dumping of earth. Another issue that was highlighted was that of the possibility of flooding. The government has given numerous assurances that the Bypass will not ensure ‘flooding’ but this has not convinced the people or MLAs.

The decision to build the remaining part of the bypass on stilts is clearly the victory of the people.