Goa, being the smallest state, should have by now been the most developed state in the country. Unfortunately, this is not so due to the poor vision and planning of our leaders. Our roads are potholed, garbage is piled up by the roadsides, and there are endless traffic jams and road diversions. As a result, it has now become difficult to drive or walk. There are no taxis or rickshaws that one can hail, as in other states. Taxi fares are exorbitant and beyond the reach of the common man. Commuting in Goa has therefore become a nightmare.
Sixty years on, yet Goa has no proper sewerage system. While septic tanks are freely overflowing, raw sewage and untreated effluents are being pumped into lakes and rivers, causing high pollution and the killing of fish. Illegal borewells are being drilled with impunity, causing depletion of groundwater. Drinking water has yet to reach the homes of several people in many villages, as there is neither 'nal nor jal'. Yet the government keeps promising 24-hour drinking water to every household. Goa's electricity department takes the cake for daily power outages. Underground cabling works costing crores of rupees are still going on with no improvement in the power supply, even as 'smart' meters are being foisted on consumers with an increase in power tariffs.
Lakhs of square metres of orchard land, eco-sensitive hill slopes, and paddy fields are being converted by the Town Planning Department into development zones for the builder lobby, causing the destruction of the environment and ecology of the state. Casino culture has also gripped the state, with the government allowing the entry of a 112-metre-long casino vessel which is expected to be towed to the Mandovi River in Panaji.
Illegal houses are being regularised under the 'Mhaje Ghar' scheme, while Panchayats are freely granting NOCs, construction and trade licences to builders and nightclub owners who are carrying out a roaring business in the state and destroying the peace of villages by blaring loud music throughout the night. The recent Arpora nightclub blaze is a case in point where 25 people lost their lives. Goa today resembles a paradise lost.
