How do you keep that 'wave of Goa' feeling upon its sand?

It’s like sand slipping through the fingers. How much ever you try to grasp it in your hands, it just slips away. That old Goa feeling and vibe. As the wild winds of change swirl through the coastal State, how can you keep the wave of frothy Goa feeling upon its sand?

It’s getting washed away in the storm of furious-paced urbanisation and hyper-commercial development — one brick at a time — as old-timers watch, weak-kneed and helpless. As they do this, they’re learning the bitter lesson of ‘change is the only constant’.

Goa should retain its urban soul with rural dreams

In it all, the disturbing aspect is it is mutating the DNA of the western coastal State, soaked in its rich tradition and culture.

It’s chipping away at its core; it’s unshakable social, economic, judicial and executive institutions that have stood the test of time are getting whittled. They are slowly crumbling under pressure from external forces, and losing distinctiveness.

As this process gets under way, the first to be obliterated are the old towns and villages. Slowly, the lush green fields and thickly forested hills are becoming thick with concrete jungles. Its shores and riverbanks are no longer as pristine as in the past.

Goan homes, built with Indo-Portuguese architecture (found only in Goa), are vanishing, only to be replaced with glassy modern structures as builders and developers chase real estate dollars in tier 2 cities.

Goan homes, built with Indo-Portuguese architecture (found only in Goa), are vanishing, only to be replaced with glassy modern structures as builders and developers chase real estate dollars in tier 2 cities.

For some time now, Goa has been viewed by real estate players and investors as a lucrative market for tier 2 cities. Estimates by property consultants have pegged the average rental yields in the State between 12 percent and 15 percent while the rate of return on investment in its real estate ranges between 5 percent and 15 percent, depending on the area.

Don’t let unchecked real estate development dry up Goa’s taps

Some of the popular locations for real estate investors are Calangute, Baga, Morjim, Anjuna and other popular tourist destinations, which offer rental opportunities to second home owners.

It could be because of this that the State — despite an area of just 3,702 sq km and a population of 1.6 million (as per the population census projections for 2022-23) — has seen a rapid rate of urbanisation, infrastructure development and migrant inflow from other states.

Goa needs to watch out for such pitfalls in its pursuit of urbanisation. First of all, it should not blindly go after such ambitions. Its rural centres are its valuable capital, and it should not squander them away.

It’s population, at the bend of the current century (in 2000), was barely a lakh at 1.16 million. Today, it has crossed 1.5 million and is galloping towards 2 million. All this has hastened its urbanisation.

While this has helped the state reap economic dividend, it’s not without serious environmental, infrastructural, cultural and governance challenges. The State government cannot overlook these issues likely to crop up as rural areas begin to wear an urbanlook.

If we look around India, most of our cities have not followed planned urbanisation. It’s amazing how, in the cover of the night, weeds of new settlements grow like wild shrubs. Over time, they get regularised by authorities and become vote banks.

Goa cannot lose its character in the tide of development

This kind of urban development has given birth to urban centres, which are collapsing under the slightest pressure.

A light shower floods the streets; garbageheaps appear at every corner; water taps easily dry up; roads choke up with traffic fumes and noise; no gentle evening breeze blows through your windows as trees are felled, the list of drawbacks of unplanned cities is endless.

Goa needs to watch out for such pitfalls in its pursuit of urbanisation. First of all, it should not blindly go after such ambitions. Its rural centres are its valuable capital, and it should not squander them away.

Some of the popular locations for real estate investors are Calangute, Baga, Morjim, Anjuna and other popular tourist destinations, which offer rental opportunities to second home owners.

To put things in perspective, 62 percent of the State’s population was urban in 2011, well above the national average. This percentage shot up to 75.8 percent by mid-2023. It is projected that it could climb to 88 percent by 2036.

If at all Goa has to compulsively opt for urbanisation, then it should be undertaken with proactive planning. It should entail regulations that enforce stringent zoning, infrastructural development, water management, architectural heritage preservation and, most importantly, retain the Goan culture and vibe.

That unique feeling of Goa should never be allowed to slip through the fingers.