Dhargal: An Ideal Location For Sports City

by NANDKUMAR KAMAT
Posted on 2007-12-15
THE postponement of the 34th national games at Jharkhand (scheduled to be held in 2007) and the organisation of the 35th National games at Kerala in 2010 would give more breathing time for the Goa government to hold the 36th edition of the national games in 2012 or 2013.
Practically it would be difficult to complete world-class infrastructure if the games were to be held as early as 2011 as per host city contract which Goa has signed with the Indian Olympics association. The government of Goa should not lose this opportunity to plan meticulously keeping in view the possibility in future to emerge as a venue/sub venue for SAARC, Commonwealth and ASIAD games.
The Kerala government has submitted a Rs 1000 crore proposal to the central government to organise the 2010 national games. The PM and the planning commission have also categorically assured Goa that generous grants would be released by the central government to make it possible to develop world class sports infrastructure. An assurance has been given to release a grant of Rs 1220 crores to host the 36th national games depending on the response from the Goa government and the progress of the work on infrastructure development.
The proposed sports city would need at least 200 hectares of land to accommodate 12,000 players and 2000 officials. It would be the largest state financed mega-project after Goa’s statehood. Land would be required in one parcel to accommodate a nicely designed sports city, the proposed games village, several modern stadia, a velodrome for cycling, a shooting range, tennis courts, indoor stadia for basketball, fencing, volleyball, handball and table tennis. Some events like swimming may be held at other venues. Supporting facilities would include shopping malls and probably a seven-star hotel. There would be a sprawling parking area and a bus stand. It is inconceivable that such a massive project could have come up at the original location – at Neura without severe ecological impacts and challenging techno-engineering problems in the fragile low lying khazans on the banks of Cumbarjua canal. The location at Neura was totally unfit for a sports city.
In my article in this column (February 18, 2008) while making a case for ‘location policy for mega projects’, I had written – “The low-lying khazan lands with saline and corrosive soils, especially those that have been reclaimed from the mangrove swamps and that are projected to be submerged on account of sea-level rise can never be thought of as suitable places for grand projects like stadiums and sports city. Although expensive engineering and technological solutions are possible to overcome such concerns, the heavy expenditure coupled with time and cost overruns in such grandiose projects, which do not incorporate maintenance costs in designs, make these prohibitive. But it looks like under certain political compulsions the Goa government is determined to use the ecologically fragile khazan lands for the proposed sports city, going by the announcement of the acquisition of six lakh sq mt of land at Neura – once considered the rice bowl of Tiswadi.
The final decision rests with the people, the panchayat and the gram sabha of Neura. They have every right to weigh the pros and cons of the project after obtaining the full project report, engineering details and the environmental impact assessment report. They will have to make an informed choice. Somehow, the villagers of Neura understood the consequences of such a mega project and compelled the government to hunt for a new location – which turned out to be at Dhargal. Although the government of Goa is yet to work out a rational locational policy for various infrastructure and public projects, the selection of ecologically less problematic and accessible location of Dhargal has to be welcomed.
The selection of uncultivated land at Sukemkulan, Cobracho Moll and Salgacho Akh in Dhargal village as the proposed location for the sports city is an excellent decision by the local MLA and the sports minister Mr Manohar Azagaonkar. I was wondering why he did not recommend this site earlier. Being almost a flat lateritic plateau, the Dhargal site would be ideal for development. The area is thinly populated. The Dhargal location is within 25 kms from Panaji and 15 kms from Mapusa. There is no traffic congestion on the closest NH-17A. There is ample scope for linking roads with river transportation. The local people would definitely support this mega-project if they were kept well informed at every level – from land acquisition to construction. A part of Dhargal plateau was wasted in accommodating a non-functional and power guzzling, polluting steel plant. People in this area have not seen much development. A sports city would not only create direct and indirect employment opportunities in this area but it would be a boost for Pernem’s tourism potential and horticulture.
As one travels from Dhargal to Ibrampur via Casarvornem, one notices the striking backwardness of the region – as if this part does not belong to developed Goa. There is limited enterprise and almost no job opportunities. People are somehow surviving on cashew plantations and sand mining. The worst part is basalt quarrying which has seriously denuded the hillsides. Perhaps the proposed national games may come to the people of Pernem taluka as a God-sent opportunity to join the bandwagon of development. But they have to be careful in selling their lands to the real estate speculators.
Even after the conclusion of national games, the sports city would become a nerve centre for organisation of several tournaments that would draw crowds. Markets develop when crowds descend. So, it won’t be a surprise if Dhargal emerges as a sports township on the map of Goa by 2012-13 if everything goes well. The proposed Mopa airport would take at least another ten years to be built and become fully operational. The Dhargal sports city would be in the proximity of the proposed international airport. So it could also boost sports tourism. With an initial promised grant of Rs 570 crore, the government of Goa must now be really impatient to move ahead with the sports city project. But it should keep a careful eye on private land deals and sudden real estate speculation in the taluka and if necessary order a freeze on sale of land within five kms radial demarcated area around the sports city till the national games are concluded. Everything should be done to ensure that the people of Pernem view this as a project for their own welfare and to launch Goa internationally as a future sports destination.
The Dhargal sports city project should not be seen by vested interests as a money-spinner. If it gets entangled in needless controversies then the hopes of the people of Pernem would be shattered.