NT Reporter
Panaji/Vasco
The Congress has stepped up its campaign seeking special constitutional protection for Goa, warning that unchecked development, environmental degradation and large-scale land conversions are pushing the state towards an irreversible crisis.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Saturday, party leaders said Goa was facing an “existential threat” to its land, ecology, culture and traditional livelihoods. The briefing was addressed by AICC in-charge for Goa Manikrao Thakre, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Amit Patkar and South Goa MP Viriato Fernandes.
The leaders underlined the urgency of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2025, introduced in Parliament as a Private Member’s Bill by Fernandes. The proposed legislation seeks to grant special constitutional status to Goa through the insertion of Article 371-IA, on the lines of provisions available to several northeastern states under Article 371.
Fernandes said the Bill aims to provide constitutional protection to Goa’s land, rivers, forests, hills,
agriculture and fragile ecology. He said the proposed safeguards would also cover traditional communities, fishermen, SC, ST, OBC, as well as Goa’s language, festivals, folk arts, culture and heritage.
Thakre referred to major infrastructure projects such as highway expansion, railway doubling and the Tamnar power project, alleging
that these were pushed through during the COVID lockdown without public consultation.
Patkar said that while Goa’s population was around 16 lakh, the state received over one crore tourists annually, placing enormous pressure on its limited land and resources.
Recalling Goa’s unique political journey, including the 1967 Opinion Poll and the attainment of Statehood in 1987, the South Goa MP also said the state’s distinct identity was now under severe strain.
Stating that nearly 12 years of BJP rule at the Centre and 14 years in Goa had led to unprecedented ecological and institutional damage,
He alleged a sharp decline in tree cover and misuse of the Town and Country Planning Act to enable large-scale land conversions.
The Congress claimed that nearly 68 lakh square metres of land had been illegally converted, resulting in significant financial losses and environmental damage, and said constitutional safeguards were necessary to ensure long-term protection and accountability.
