Retired Judge Condemns Goa's Planning Law as Fundamentally Unconstitutional
In a powerful address at Kala Academy in Panaji on Saturday, retired Bombay High Court Justice Gautam Patel launched a scathing critique of Section 39A of Goa's Town and Country Planning Act, labeling it "fundamentally, frontally unconstitutional." The former judge argued that this provision effectively "obliterates community-driven decision-making and agency in self-determination," replacing it with what he described as "the godlike wisdom of a chief town planner."
The Mechanism of Control
Justice Patel explained that Section 39A enables the chief town planner to alter land-use zoning almost whimsically. "This clever little legislative sleight of hand allows the chief town planner to change zoning with minimal accountability," he stated. While the law includes a one-month period for suggestions and objections, Patel dismissed this as "simply cosmetic," asserting that "the decision is already made" before public input is considered.
The retired judge expressed grave concern that this provision is "reducing Goa and its people to irrelevance, land to a backdrop" and represents "the infantilisation of an entire populace." He questioned the underlying assumption: "What are we being told? That each one of us, in whichever village, all of us are too childlike, too infantile, too mutton-headed, just too stupid to understand just what is best for us."
Judicial Precedent and Community Rights
Patel cited the Supreme Court's landmark April 18, 2013 decision in the Odisha mining case involving Sterlite and Vedanta as establishing "the strongest possible judicial principle in support of the right to environmental self-determination." He noted "uncanny parallels" between that case and Goa's current situation, where authorities assumed tribal communities were "too poor to know their rights and what was good for them." The Supreme Court ultimately ordered a referendum, and villagers voted against the project.
"Let there be a referendum on any one of these proposed land-use zoning changes, not just suggestions and objections," Patel demanded. "Put it to the vote and let the chief town planner behave as he should, as a public servant, with emphasis on servant, and not like some self-inflated satrap exercising dominion over that which is not his but is yours and your community's."
Environmental Degradation and Cultural Erosion
The retired judge described numerous environmental concerns plaguing Goa, from casinos advertised at airports to restaurants built near Olive Ridley turtle nesting sites and sand dunes destroyed for luxury hotels. "The sheer number of environmental issues affecting Goa is staggering," he said, listing forests, wildlife corridors, coastal areas, lakes, and water bodies as under threat.
Patel identified a fundamental problem as the "stereotyping of Goa" by outsiders from cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Ahmedabad who purchase land and construct houses with "not even a nod to Goan architecture, heritage, culture, climate, environment, or ecology." He criticized this "Dubai-chic" architecture that treats Goa as "just a backdrop" or "CGI scenery painted on a screen."
The Pattern of Conquest
Justice Patel warned that developers and planners succeed by "balkanising your communities, dividing you, the people, taking away your land, your right of self-determination, your right to decide what should and should not be allowed to happen to your community, and criminalising protest." He identified this pattern as one that "runs throughout recorded human history: it's called conquest."
Goa faces what Patel termed "othering," where "Goans have become the others, the lesser, immaterial ones who do not matter, and those who are not Goan, who make no attempt to know or understand Goa, are the ones who take all decisions about the land, people, and culture." He noted this is "actively facilitated by those within Goa" as well as outsiders.
A Call to Action
The retired judge concluded with a passionate defense of Goa's unique character, describing how the state "seeped into my heart" during his tenure there. He emphasized that "this land is not a piece of meat in a butcher's shop to be carved up and distributed. It's a home, and it needs to be treated like one."
Patel's solution remains clear: replace the current system with genuine community referendums. "If you want public participation, then suggestions and objections and formalities are not the answer. Let the community vote on it and let us see what happens," he asserted, maintaining that this approach proves why Section 39A is "fundamentally, frontally unconstitutional."
