Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s recent criticism of constantly litigating NGOs and green activists in the State has sparked a debate on the issue, with the Congress also alleging that as leader of Opposition in the Goa legislative Assembly, Parrikar in the recent past, too had allied with the green brigade to attack the Congress-led coalition Governments of the time.
The contentious issue of NGOs and green activists taking to courts to file petition against infrastructure projects like bridges, garbage management projects, etc, has been consistently raised by the ruling BJP leaders including the Chief Minister himself.
On Wednesday however, Congress general secretary Trajano D’Mello attacked Parrikar over his comments make on Monday against the section of court-prone NGOs and activists, where Parrikar suggested that they were backed by vested interests keen on delaying infrastructure creation in the State.
“The Defence Minister’s attack on NGOs that they are objecting every development is an absolute lie. He should remember that as Opposition leader he was encouraging them to agitate, was participating in agitations and brought development to a grinding halt,” D’Mello said.
“When he was doing it, it was to save Goa’s destruction. But now when the rampant destruction has started and has been objected leg-ally he termed it as obstructing de-velopment,” D’Mello further added.
While addressing a Government-organised function after laying the foundation stone of a sewage treatment plant in Panaji, Parrikar, who is a former Goa Chief Minister and BJP stalwart on Monday had said, “There are some professionals, who regularly file cases against Government projects. That is why I urge state officials to take all the necessary environmental and other required clearances before starting work on a project, so that these so-called NGOs do not find the courage to file cases against us”.
“This constant filing of cases against government projects has become a business. If we are wrong, punish us, but do not stop developmental projects unnecessarily,” the Defence minister had said, while also demanding that such compulsive litigants needed to be exposed.
“From the Saligao garbage treatment plant to the Mandovi bridge, these people are going to court to stop nearly all our environment-friendly projects. There is a need to expose such people. So far, we have won every case filed against us,” Parrikar had exhorted.
Parrikar’s voice is not a lone one on the issue. Chief minister laxmikant Parsekar has also in the past said that constantly protesting NGOs were ruining quality initiatives, especially the Defence Expo, which was organised for the first time in Goa with Parrikar at the helm of the key central ministry.
“We are thinking of holding events like maritime summit in our state. People are willing to come and participate in such events in Goa. But some of the NGOs will start objecting to it,” had said in April this year.
The criticism of the NGOs and activists has however been slammed by regional party Goa Forward, which believes that the criticism by Parrikar and BJP leaders is a result of anxiety in the state ruling party ranks. “The same NGOs, who used to support Parrikar when he was an Opposition leader are now exposing the scams of the BJP when it is in power. So such blanket criticism is expected,” Goa Forward spokesperson Durgadas Kamat told The Pioneer.