The Goa Congress on Saturday opposed the decision of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) to accord consent to a proposal of Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) for a standard golf course on Tiracol island in Pernem taluk of north Goa, on the grounds of environment and water availability.
Pradesh Congress committee president John Fernandes said that the GSPCB does not seem to have bothered to find out from the project promoters from where they would procure water for the project.
“We will oppose any moves to lift the water from water table from the village”, he said pointing out that the villagers and farmers in the vicinity are opposed to any such moves.
As a Member of Parliamentary Committee on Civil Aviation while he was Rajya Sabha Member a few years back, he had opposed similar proposals of golf courses by the same Delhi-based company on environmental grounds, recalled Mr. Fernandes.
He said the GSPCB seems to have come under political pressure to clear the proposal in haste.
“The Board has to explain to people of Goa about their source of water for golf course,” Mr. Fernandes insisted.
At a press conference at Congress House on Saturday, Mr. Fernandes was responding to the development that the GSPCB recently granted its “consent to establish” to a leading hotel group from New Delhi a Rs.395 crore project that includes golf course, premium villas and restaurants at Tiracol. The project includes an 18 hole golf course in 6.62 sq. m area.
The project mooted around five years back had been on a backburner with strong opposition from locals.
Mr. Fernandes also said that he will meet Minister for Defence Arun Jaitly in New Delhi soon to demand that Indian Coast Guard(ICG) be given autonomy and asked to fulfill all its functions along the coast.
He said that a recommendation from Parliamentary Committee on Defence had in the past made such a proposal and time has come for it to be implemented by disassociating ICG from Navy.
He blamed the Coast Guard for failing to clear the Goan coastline of tar ball menace recently and further said that they should have been vigilant to see where the oil slick was taking place on the seas so as to destroy the Goan coastline so badly.
He said the Coast Guard had been negligent about their duty in recent times and it would be better if it is de-linked from Navy so that its duties could be clearly demarcated vis-a-vis Navy and Customs and accountability reinforced through checks and balances.
