Residents of Amdai, a settlement on the outskirts of Sanguem town in South Goa, have been opposing a large brewery and distillery factory proposed in their area since 2016. The factory is promoted by Vani Agro Farms, a New Delhi-based company that has permission to produce up to five crore litres of beer every year, besides other spirits.
The project is located near Uguem River, which is a lifeline for Amdai as well as for the settlements of Uguem village downstream of the proposed factory. The residents feel that the factory's massive water requirement of five lakh litres per day will dry up the river and their water sources. Although the company has clarified that it would use water from the nearby Salauli Dam, people are not convinced.
They claim to have received some documents using the Right To Information Act, which shows that the brewery has permissions from the government to draw water from the river. The people are also agitated that the factory is coming up on a coconut orchard and entails cutting nearly 500 coconut trees. The residents allege that Goa's infamous 2015 amendment to the Goa, Daman and Diu Preservation of Trees Act, 1984, which removed coconut from the list of protected trees, was done specifically to favour this brewery.
In response to various news reports, Vani Agro has denied any connection with the coconut amendment but has admitted that because of it, it does not require any permissions for cutting the coconut trees. The residents are also angry that the government declared the factory land as an "Investment Promotion Area" under the Goa Investment Promotion Act, 2014, which takes away the panchayat's powers to veto the project.
The residents say that being a "red category" industry, a brewery cannot come up on orchard land as per Goa's zoning laws. The villagers, along with the non-profit Goa Foundation, filed a writ petition before the Bombay high court, seeking the project's clearance by the Goa Investment Promotion and Facilitation Board to be cancelled as it is a 'Red' category industry. The petition also challenged the Town and Country Planning Department's decision to convert the land use from 'Orchard' to 'Industry'.
In April 2017, the coalition government in Goa considered reversing the coconut tree amendment and also reviewing all decisions given by the Board. Subsequently, the project was kept on hold until the government reviewed it.
In 2018, the Board, chaired by then Chief Minister (now deceased) Manohar Parrikar decided to review the project through an external consultant. Since then, the project has been on hold.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Opposition against environmental degradation
Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Private
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Project stalled
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Water bodies, Residential area
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Yes
Source/Reference
<https://www.newslaundry.com/2017/05/05/the-green-guardians-of-goa-a-citizens-movement-against-a-brewery> <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/vani-agro-project-on-hold-govt-to-review-it/articleshow/59746766.cms> [Government is considering relocating the project to another site instead of scrapping it]
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
138
Type of investment:
Cost of Project
Year of Estimation
2016
Has the Conflict Ended?
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Other, Environmental Laws
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Violation of environmental laws
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Disposed
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
High Court of Bombay at Goa
Case Number
PILWP 22/2016
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Goa Investment Promotion and Facilitation Board
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Vani Agro Farms Private Limited
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Goa Foundation
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
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