Recent a senior member of the
village of Verna which is next to the largest industrial estate
in Goa, stated that the village gets no benefits as even the youth
are not getting employment in the industrial estate. With “Make in
India” fast becoming a mantra and every State government falling
over themselves to attract investors, this issue needs to be looked
at quickly; else resulting agitations will have their effect.
Being closely involved with Verna Industrial Estate and also having my origins in the Verna Village, there is an excuse to comment on the situation. I do not agree with my fellow villager. The village is benefiting from the existence of the industrial estate, what is debatable is the kind of benefit they are deriving. However it appears tgey have made a choice. Even turning a blind eye to the happenings is a choice.
Years ago, the Association office bearers were summoned by the Governor of Goa. Goa was then under Governors rule and a few concerned villagers had complained that the industry was affecting the demographic makeup and also having a negative influence on the villagers. The employees of the companies located in the estate were residing in the village and as such beginning to outnumber the local population. They also felt that since there were only men, they were getting involved with the local girls and cases of cheating were reported.
The situation from their point of view has worsened and the causes which at that time were raised as solutions were not and remain unaddressed.
Industry by nature needs manpower. They do not look at where a person resides or is from before giving the job, they look for ability and willingness to do the job. The employee on the other hand prefers a job closer to home. If his home is far away he moves closer to his place of work to avoid commuting. That is why in Goa a lot of ancestral homes are empty in the village as the owners prefer to stay in the city close to schools and workplace.
The employees today come from other States, they get jobs in the Industrial estate and they go to the nearby areas and look for accommodation. For the residents of the nearby areas in this case Verna Village it offets an easy source of income, renting. As demand increases, almost every household begins to first rent the spare rooms inside their house and then build rooms in the open space in the compound to increase the capacity. Some encroach on available open space and build there.
None of these rooms have adequate sanitation, electricity or water provisions and usually all of them flout the panchayat rules and building laws. As is expected, the occupants work hard in the factory and come and pay the rent to the landlord who I assume is still local. The landlord, earns his money without moving a muscle. If he worked eight hours in a day in the factory he would earn less. Given this situation, can we say that the benefit of the industrial estate in not coming to the local.
The local then argues but these outsiders work for very cheap rates. Assume that this is true. Who is aiding this action, the local? How? They make the cost of the room cheap by adding more rooms, reducing the space and not providing facilities. Then since staying is cheap the employee can accept a lower salary. If the accommodation was not available nearby he would have to go farther away and they the job is not so lucrative as transport cost kicks in.
Assume, that all building bye laws were followed, and then the amount of rooms available would definitely be reduced. The cost would increase as the landlord would have to provide sanitation importantly, FSI would have to be maintained, taxes would have to be paid to the panchayat etc., naturally the employee would then demand a higher salary from his employer. This higher rate may be more acceptable to the local living in the area. If you see the type of outsiders living in Verna, they are mostly working class with no great skill sets, so that means either the locals do not want that job or have a better alternative, currently it is renting.
Being closely involved with Verna Industrial Estate and also having my origins in the Verna Village, there is an excuse to comment on the situation. I do not agree with my fellow villager. The village is benefiting from the existence of the industrial estate, what is debatable is the kind of benefit they are deriving. However it appears tgey have made a choice. Even turning a blind eye to the happenings is a choice.
Years ago, the Association office bearers were summoned by the Governor of Goa. Goa was then under Governors rule and a few concerned villagers had complained that the industry was affecting the demographic makeup and also having a negative influence on the villagers. The employees of the companies located in the estate were residing in the village and as such beginning to outnumber the local population. They also felt that since there were only men, they were getting involved with the local girls and cases of cheating were reported.
The situation from their point of view has worsened and the causes which at that time were raised as solutions were not and remain unaddressed.
Industry by nature needs manpower. They do not look at where a person resides or is from before giving the job, they look for ability and willingness to do the job. The employee on the other hand prefers a job closer to home. If his home is far away he moves closer to his place of work to avoid commuting. That is why in Goa a lot of ancestral homes are empty in the village as the owners prefer to stay in the city close to schools and workplace.
The employees today come from other States, they get jobs in the Industrial estate and they go to the nearby areas and look for accommodation. For the residents of the nearby areas in this case Verna Village it offets an easy source of income, renting. As demand increases, almost every household begins to first rent the spare rooms inside their house and then build rooms in the open space in the compound to increase the capacity. Some encroach on available open space and build there.
None of these rooms have adequate sanitation, electricity or water provisions and usually all of them flout the panchayat rules and building laws. As is expected, the occupants work hard in the factory and come and pay the rent to the landlord who I assume is still local. The landlord, earns his money without moving a muscle. If he worked eight hours in a day in the factory he would earn less. Given this situation, can we say that the benefit of the industrial estate in not coming to the local.
The local then argues but these outsiders work for very cheap rates. Assume that this is true. Who is aiding this action, the local? How? They make the cost of the room cheap by adding more rooms, reducing the space and not providing facilities. Then since staying is cheap the employee can accept a lower salary. If the accommodation was not available nearby he would have to go farther away and they the job is not so lucrative as transport cost kicks in.
Assume, that all building bye laws were followed, and then the amount of rooms available would definitely be reduced. The cost would increase as the landlord would have to provide sanitation importantly, FSI would have to be maintained, taxes would have to be paid to the panchayat etc., naturally the employee would then demand a higher salary from his employer. This higher rate may be more acceptable to the local living in the area. If you see the type of outsiders living in Verna, they are mostly working class with no great skill sets, so that means either the locals do not want that job or have a better alternative, currently it is renting.
The other issue that gets raised is social interaction. Having invited the men to stay in your house or compound and then not expecting a social interaction between the men and local women is akin to what Hillary Clinton said to Pakistan leadership, you cannot keep a snake in the backyard and expect it to bite only the neighbours. They are many instances of the women folk eloping and later being robbed and abandoned in the State the male worker originated from. There could also be some happy endings too.
Open defecation causes another major concern. Again if the building bye laws are followed, a toilet within the premises would be a must. If a landlord keeps more tenants, correspondingly more toilets would be needed. Is the panchayat looking at these aspects, are the locals demanding this from the panchayat? Or is it easier to go hammer and tongs at the industrial estate and create and us versus them syndrome and gain brownie points. Why is no one asking what is done with the funds collected from the taxes paid by the industry to the panchayat. Does that money not help develop the village? Penalising people if they defecate in the open or dump garbage is closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. Why not enforce the requirement of toilets?
The situation needs to be addressed quickly across Goa, with the Government working hard to make Goa an aspirational investment destination.
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