Mining crisis wake up call: Bishop -Herald

Mining crisis wake up call: Bishop December 28, 2012 TEAM HERALD PANJIM: Expressing his deep concern over the mining crisis Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao said the current situation was “a wake up call” for the government to review all its economic policies to see if they were sustainable and measured up to basic human rights. style="margin: 0px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">The Bishop said he could not but express his deep concern as he watched the government grapple with the dilemma that “has pitted business and environment against each other, leading to a temporary collapse of an entire and important industry.” Though the Church condemned the “plunder of the land” that took place through illegal mining, Archbishop Ferrao said he was also equally concerned about the many people who have lost their livelihoods as a result of the shutdown of the industry. “We understand that the government is looking to alleviate the problems of these people by rehabilitating them in other industries. We sincerely hope that they will not have to suffer much longer,” he said, hoping that a satisfactory solution could be reached with all stakeholders involved. “The current mining crisis is indeed a wake-up call for the government to revisit all its economic policies for their sustainability and adherence to human rights,” the head of the Catholic Church in Goa told the government pointedly, delivering his annual Christmas address at the Archbishop’s official residence here on Thursday. Governor Bharat Vir Wanchoo and Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza, MP Francisco Sardinha and AICC member Luizinho Faleiro were among the gathering of invitees which also had a sprinkling of ministers and MLAs. Hinting at a communal bias, the Bishop was even more critical of the government on the issue of education saying that as the largest player in this domain the Church wasn’t getting the recognition it deserved nor had it been given adequate representation in the decision making bodies. Education had to be free of political interference and communal bias, Rev Ferrao said, adding that he hoped “that our educational institutions will have a certain freedom to streamline the excellence in the quality of education that they impart, for which the necessary funds and facilities should be made available, without unnecessary delays”. In a not so veiled warning to the Manohar Parrikar government which the Church had a large hand in bringing to power, the Bishop said the new government had “to yet prove itself in its resolve to eradicate corruption” and give the people of Goa a clean and responsible administration. “We have all seen the disposition of the people at large, which was reflected in the last electoral verdict,” the Bishop said. On the tourism issue the Bishop said the government needed to look beyond the purely economic parameters and consider the interests of the local people, particularly those who are adversely affected by the tourism industry. Too few of the benefits of the tourism industry percolated to the original inhabitants of Goa’s coastal areas where the bulk of tourism happens. Calling these the genuine holders of rights over tourism, the Bishop said, “our people seem to be systematically dispossessed by the powerful and the rich, who see their own profits as being of higher value than the people of the land”. http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6528345820633102144#editor/target=post;postID=962213839615213501