Goencho Ekvott has triumphed. In the wake of the scrapping of the felling of trees in Mollem for the 420 kw transmitter, the Supreme Court has stalled the double-tracking of the South Western Railway. There is an ongoing agitation against the expansion of the national highways. Goans were also fighting against polarising Goa on communal lines. As long as we remain united no force can undermine the risk of destroying the biodiversity and social cosmopolitanism of Goa.

By Rajan Narayan

WHENEVER Goans have come together against corruption, destruction and degradation of the environment, they have always won the battle. The key to the victory of Goans over corrupt governments at the Centre and the State is Goencho Ekvott — which literally means the “unity as dramatized by Goans.” At the press conference addressed by the chairperson of Goencho Ekvott, Captain Viriato, on May 10, 2022, he again stressed upon the unity of Goans being responsible for the victory against a conspiracy to destroy the green paradise state of Goa.
Captain Viriato pointed out that when several groups and individuals started agitations against the double- tracking in various parts of Goa, it was the late Julio Cedric Aguiar who had suggested that Goans come together and fight together. Orville Dourado Rodrigues is the founder of the Goencho Ekvott and Julio Aguiar was the vice-chairperson. Both are responsible for the formation of the Goencho Ekvott which took up cudgels to save Goa from environment damaging mega projects which are not in the long-term interests of a tourist-friendly state.
What is significant about the victory of Goencho Ekvott over the conspiracy by Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and industrialist Gautam Adani, to convert Goa into a coal hub, is that for the first time even the late chief minister, Manohar Parrikar and then Environment Minister Alina Saldanha strongly opposed the proposal to double-track the South Western Railway, particularly the very sensitive section of Tinai Ghat-Castlerock in Karnataka to Collem/Kulem in Goa which passes through the heart of the Mollem wildlife sanctuary (or Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary).

REJECTED LONG AGO!
AS THEN Chief Conservator of Forests in 2013, Richard D’Souza, pointed out, the gradient of the stretch between Kulem-Castlerock was so steep that ironically over that stretch double engine tracking had been wilfully requested even by the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. Not because the Narendra Modi government has promoted it! But in a far more destructive sense in which bulldozers would be ruthlessly used and indeed, the former Chief Conservator of Forest had warned in his response to the NBWL that if that stretch was double-tracked – the Dudhsagar waterfalls would disappear.
The primary objective of the three linear projects, the double tracking of the South Western Railway, the expansion of the national highway and setting up of a new transmission power plant at the heart of the Mollem forest, was primarily to facilitate the transport of 136 million tonnes of coal imported by Gautam Adani for Hospet and Bellary factories in Karnataka. Under the cover of covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns the Central government, on instigation by Union Minister of Transport Nitin Gadkari, the work commenced stealthily.
Goans came to realise what was going on only when their houses were targeted for demolishing so that flyovers could be constructed for the double tracking and expansion of highways! It was also then that they discovered the third dimension which was to do with the 420kw transmitter at the heart of the Mollem forests to enable the switch from diesel to electricity for South Western Railway coal cargo trains.

ENTER GOENCHO EKVOTT
THE Goencho Ekvott won their first battle when the National Green Tribunal (NGT) concurred with decision of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) that additional land would not be required for the 420kw transmitter in the heart of Mollem. That the transmission lines could run parallel to the existing lines.
The latest victory is that the Supreme Court agreed with the CEC that double-tracking of the South Western Railway, particularly in the extremely fragile area of the Western Ghats, would be disastrous and have detrimental effect on Goa’s protected richest biodiversity hotspots.
The expansion of national highways has already been stalled with the High Court directing the National Highway Authority to first repair the existing potholes on the Mumbai-Goa highway. Goans have succeeded jointly in saving the green status of the country’s smallest state again and it is a hard-earned victory courtesy the country’s apex court, the Supreme Court. It may be recalled that when Goans came together under the umbrella of the Goencho Awaaz, they had forced the Digambar Kamat government to scrap Regional Plan 2011 drawn up by Babush Monseratte, which would have converted Goa into a concrete jungle.
WHEN Goans came together against the anti-SEZ plan it reverted the sale of prime Goan property to builders under the guise of creating employment. Going back to the historic Opinion Poll of 1967 Goans have always managed to preserve their identity. Unity is strength. They should not permit the BJP government to divide Goa either socially or physically.