Paying tribute to a decade-old decision we need to value more
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By A Correspondent
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The post-independence history of Goa has had some good periods. One brief but golden period was Lt. General J.F.R. Jacob's term as Goa's Governor from April 1998 to November 1999, during which time he oversaw a number of short-lived governments.
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The highlight of this period was the imposition of President's rule in the state during the first half of 1999. During this period, the Governor ruled with a team of only three people; the Governor himself and his two advisors Alban Couto and M.N. Buch.
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During Lt. General Jacob's rule, the secretariat was made accessible to ordinary citizens and surprise visits were made to bus stands, local hospitals and the Collector offices. Corruption was completely eliminated. Significant improvements were made to infrastructural facilities related to power, water, transport and medical health. Night landing facilities at Dabolim airport were established.
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Lt. General Jacob had inherited a state which was on the brink of financial crises after previous governments borrowed huge sums of money from financial institutions. By the time Lt. General Jacob's rule had ended, he raised enough money to pay back all these loans. He went a step further by securing a grant of Rs 50 crores from the center to improve state administration.
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Several press reports which were issued during the end of President's rule focused on calls by the public to extend this rule in the state. At the same time, Lt. General Jacob was always non-partisan in his approach so he stepped aside, thus paving way for a democratically elected government in June 1999.
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Of all the decisions Jacob made during his rule, one has outlasted the rest in terms of its impact on subsequent governments and on the people of Goa.
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Considering the geographical size of the state and the impact of this decision on the politics and economics of the state, it may be the boldest move that any state in the Indian Union has made to date on the environmental front.
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The decision threw all the political parties in complete turmoil and united all of them as they opposed his decision. Lt General Jacob's decision also united several sections of citizens whom supported it. The decision gained the attention of neighboring states viz. Karnataka, thus influencing the natural resources protection policies of this state regarding its northern areas bordering Goa.
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In a state where revenue gained from the extraction of natural resources has been the historical mainstay of the state's economy and funding of political parties, this decision was one of the biggest blows to that source of revenue. The decision was also unexpected because it came from the most unlikely source: the seat of official authority. This was one of Lt. General Jacob's last decisions before the end of President's rule. The unique nature of the decision makes it worthy of further exploration and analysis.
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The dominant view of "development" is primarily involved with economic growth. However, this view is not an inclusive or all encompassing. Any economic development which comes at the cost of balancing human development and natural resources protection can hinder long term growth.
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Securing the natural resources of a state from being exhausted is of the utmost importance when trying to ensure a balanced growth model.
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Goa has been blessed with a forested mountain range which runs from north to south on its eastern border with Maharashtra and Karnataka. This range is a part of a larger mountain range called Western Ghats which begins in Gujarat and then passes through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and further into Sri Lanka.
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The Western Ghats was designated as one of the 18 ecological hotspots in the world at the United Nations Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. This international designation put the Western Ghats on par with the rainforests of the Amazon, Congo and Indonesia and other countries.
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In addition to being a reservoir of botanical and zoological wealth, the Western Ghats is also one of the last refuges of the elephant and India's national animal: the Royal Bengal Tiger. It is also the catchment area of the south west monsoon and is a watershed for all the rivers and tributaries which flow west into the Arabian Sea and east into the plains of peninsular India. These rivers and tributaries are the life-line of fishing and farming communities.
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In Goa, this mountain range traverses across the eastern talukas of Sattari, Sanguem and Canacona in a north to south direction.
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Certain areas of the mountain range were already under legal protection because they were part of the Mollem Wildlife Sanctuary (admeasuring 240 sq kms) in Sanguem taluka and Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary (admeasuring 95 sq kms) in Canacona taluka. However, the range was open for illegal encroachment, mining, tree felling, poaching in unprotected areas in Sattari taluka which fell north of Mollem sanctuary and the areas to its south in Sanguem and Canacona talukas.
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In March, 1999, a group of activists from Goa, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Mumbai and Belgaum called upon the Governor at Cabo Raj Bhavan and apprised him of these areas which needed long term protection. They also discussed the presence of the tiger in these magnificent forest ranges of Goa.
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Lt. General Jacob had already issued instructions to his Conservator of Forests Mr. Richard D'Souza regarding the protection of Mhadei and Netravali forests. Mr. D'Souza was present during the meeting and the Governor asked him to hasten the administrative work related to granting legal protection to the unprotected forest ranges of Goa.
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During the next couple of months, the forest department collected data on local ecological and cultural areas of importance and from international publications on tiger habitats which specifically refer to these regions as one of the finest tiger habitats in the world.
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On 2nd June 1999, Lt. General Jacob notified two new protected areas in Goa's mountain ranges. The two new notified areas were the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary admeasuring 209 sq kms in Sattari taluka and the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary in Sanguem taluka admeasuring 211 sq kms. The sanctuaries were appropriately named after the main tributaries of Goa's lifelines -- Mandovi and Zuari.
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The Mhadei tributary originates from the forests of Sattari and the Netravali emerges out from the forests of Sanguem.
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With a single stroke, the entire Western Ghats mountain range of Goa was consolidated into one single contiguous protected unit admeasuring 754 sq kms. After President's rule ended in Goa, the elected politicians left no stone unturned in efforts to denotify these areas. A one-man committee was appointed to suggest ways and means to revoke the notifications. Mr. Mazalkar, an ex-forest officer, was chosen for the task. Fortunately, revoking a notification of a wildlife sanctuary requires approval from the Wildlife Advisory Board of India. Repeated attempts by the Goa government to alter the notified areas were stalled at the centre.
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In 2003, Claude Alvarez of Goa Foundation petitioned the matter in the Central Empowered Committee (CEC); a special bench appointed by the Supreme Court of India to oversee matters related to environmental issues. The petition was related to the closure of mines within the two sanctuaries.
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The CEC passed an order favoring Goa Foundation's petition.
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In the last decade, several environmentalists supporting the two sanctuaries have drawn the ire of politicians. Amongst them is Rajendra Kerkar from Sattari who despite being subjected to threats has tirelessly mobilized the opinions of villagers and the general public in support of the notified areas.
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In year 2000, Kerkar launched the Vivekananda Environmental Awareness Brigade (VEAB) specifically to counteract attempts to revoke the notifications and to raise ecological awareness in rural communities in Sattari taluka. Concerned NGOs and citizens did their best over the last decade to oppose all government efforts to make any changes to the notifications.
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Some of those who have rallied for the sanctuaries are as follows: Paresh Porob, Nirmal Kulkarni, Tullaluh D'Silva, Nitin Sawant, Amrut Singh, Vijay Gaonkar, Clinton Vaz, Ramesh Gauns, Gopinath Gavas, Sebastian Rodrigues, Pankaj Lad, Arnold Noronha, Siddarth Karapurkar, Deepak Gavas and Parag Rangnekar amongst others. Frederick Noronha, Mayabhushan Nagvekar, Govind Khanolkar, Hartman D'Souza and the Times of India correspondent from Goa Paul Fernandes are amongst several journalists who have written in support of the sanctuaries in the local and national newspapers.
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Noted Goan scientist Dr. Nandakumar Kamat who regularly writes on a diverse range of issues in Goan newspapers has consistently written in support of the two protected areas.
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On a national level, several NGOs and the Indian Wildlife Advisory Board have vigorously defended the two sanctuaries. Bittu Sahgal, Editor of Sanctuary-Asia, India's leading magazine on Wildlife, has visited the region in the last decade. London-based Ms. Carmen Miranda -- a prominent member of the Goan diaspora who has been involved in a relentless battle against destructive mining activities in Goa – has always been vocal of the need to further consolidate these regions.
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Slowly over the last decade, the official status of sanctuaries has been entrenched. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), New Delhi added the sanctuaries to the list of protected areas of India. The MOEF also disbursed funds from the centre to Goa for the management of the new areas. These funds were returned to the centre because they were not utilized by the forest department. However, the forest department officially acknowledged the two new sanctuaries in its official records, posters and pamphlets.
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Last year, after more than a decade, the forest department commenced work on transferring the regions from its territorial department to its wildlife department. Creation of additional posts, recruitment of staff and identification of boundaries are some areas on which some progress has been made. The sanctuaries have also been incorporated into the documentation of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) appointed by the MOEF in March 2010 and the State's regional plan for year 2021.
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Despite these developments, more needs to be done swiftly.
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Over the last couple of years, there have been reports of tiger sightings in Goa. Last year, a tiger was brutally killed in the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and the news of the killing was widely reported in the local and national news media. The killing was also referred to in the Lok Sabha by the Union minister of Environment and Forests Mr. Jairam Ramesh during a question hour session. The matter was investigated, arrests were made, and the case continues.
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The Goa forest department has not carried out a regular and properly conducted tiger census by using modern techniques and methods. The tiger's presence has always been down-played by the department. It is ironic that Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary (admeasuring 550 sq kms) and Anshi National Park (admeasuring 250 sq kms) in the Uttar Kannada district of neighboring Karnataka are Project Tiger Reserves with special funding from the state and centre. These two regions are geographically contiguous with south Goa.
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After the two sanctuaries in Goa were notified on 2nd June 1999, the Karnataka Wildlife Division had proposed the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary admeasuring 550 sq kms to the east of the Goan mountain range. This was done in the third week of June, 1999. The proposal clearly mentions the presence of the Royal Bengal Tiger in the region -- a view based on the survey done by the then-Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) of Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, Avtaar Singh. Mr. Singh has been trained at the prestigious Wildlife Institute of India at Dehradun.
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In February 2010, the Karnataka Forest department finally notified the Bhimgad Wildlife sanctuary (admeasuring 131 sq kms to the east of the Goan mountain range). Once again, the notification clearly mentions the presence of the tiger. It is ironic that Karnataka has taken affirmative steps to protect the Tiger's habitat to all regions bordering Goa while Goa has downplayed the tiger's presence and allowed the tiger's habitat to be plundered by mining interests.
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The need of the hour is to do all in our means to 1) Declare the entire 754 sq kms mountain range of Goa as *Goa Tiger Reserve*; and 2) Get the Project Tiger program extended northwards from Karnataka into Goa 3) Enforce the one km ecologically sensitive buffer zone west of the entire protected belt as clearly laid out in the State Regional Plan 2011 and 4) Enforce a complete moratorium on mining in Goa.
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The people of Goa owe something to Lt. General Jacob. As Chief of Staff (COS), Eastern command, he is well known for his critical and decisive role in masterminding the surrender of the Pakistani Army in the 1971 war, the birth of Bangladesh and the emergence of India as a regional power.
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This is been clearly acknowledged by Pakistani author Shuja Nawaz in his book *Crossed Swords: Pakistan, its army and the wars within*. But small facts about him are less known.
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When he visited London as Goa's Governor to attend a Commonwealth meeting of NGOs, he paid for his own airfare and accommodation to avoid imposing a financial burden on the state. This fact was cited in an editorial in a local newspaper after his term ended. Today, in his late eighties, he lives a retired life in a modest apartment in Delhi.
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In giving Goa the finest administration it has ever had (albeit for a brief period), Lt. General Jacob left behind a legacy for Goans to cherish. After the notification of the two sanctuaries, he had stated that the declaration of saving the forests of Goa was a much bigger victory than the surrender of Pakistani forces during the Bangladesh war.
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The writer of this article who has worked closely with the Governor and the forest department staff during the notification process appeals to the 14,000 strong Goanet online network to collectively work towards the conservation of Goa's priceless natural heritage and prevent it from falling to the forces of destruction and greed. This is the minimum we can do for a man who has been brilliant, courageous and selfless all throughout his life towards India and the welfare of its people.
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