On Friday, the Goa government issued a circular that indicated the government would begin issuing ‘land loser certificates’ to those who had their land acquired for the Mopa airport. The certificate, the circular said, will be issued to the persons who have already received compensation and “whose claims to the land acquired have been settled as per the Land Acquisition Award and in respect of which no dispute is pending before any courts.”
The land loser certificate is expected to help those who have lost land for the airport avail of various benefits from the government or privileges and preferences when it comes to employment at the airport, allotment of stalls, and other possible opportunities that are currently available at the airport.
The land loser certificate was initially promised by the Goa government back in November 2022, when Pernem was witnessing massive protests against the airport, which at the time was yet to be inaugurated. Locals feared that if the airport is allowed to begin operations without their concerns being addressed, it would mean their concerns would be brushed aside after operations began.
Nearly two years later, the government is yet to fulfil its promise made to the people of Pernem, and it reflects a larger malaise afflicting the Mopa airport that is reflected in the repeated protests and strikes carried out by locals around the airport, including the ongoing taxi protest against the airport.
Ahead of construction, land losers were promised that the airport would be an engine of economic growth for the people of Pernem, a taluka that remained backward for long because of the shortage of fertile agricultural land and limited opportunities for tourism until the time when construction of the Siolim Chopdem bridge opened the taluka to tourism.
However, instead of benefiting the locals, the real beneficiaries of the airport appear to be not those who lost their lands for the airport and the connecting bridge but investors from across the country who have the wherewithal to either invest in businesses or properties around the airport. The private cab companies were given counters at the airport almost immediately, while the local union was forced to wait more than a year for the government to operationalise the blue cab scheme for the airport.
Similarly, the people living in the villages around the airport continue to wait for the government and the operator to sort out issues of damage to agricultural property, landslides, and mudslides along the hillsides of the plateau, as well as issues of water availability during the summer months, something that was perennially available thanks to springs flowing out from the plateau. In simple terms, while the locals have been left to face the costs, others are getting to enjoy the benefits.
In such a situation, it is incumbent upon the government to step in and provide a safety net for the local land losers to ensure that the trickle-down benefits are not usurped by those with the ability to corner a larger share but that the benefits are, as far as possible, distributed equitably among the locals.
At the same time, providing land loser certificates cannot be looked upon as a solution to the problem, especially since many of those who are affected by the airport were not the landowners in the first place but instead were occupants of the lands, either as tillers or tenants. In such a situation, it would be wise if the government brought in a broader definition of project-affected persons when it comes to ensuring equitable redistribution of the economic benefits of the Mopa airport.
