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Stripped

Stripped When a copper-waste recycling plant was coming up in a South Goa village, a section of the local populace was angry and afraid. Why had politicians acted the way they had? How would it affect them? Irate protests on the roads led to the killing of one police personnel and brutal attacks on three protesters. On another front, the battle of ideas exposed a whole unexpected can of worms and put the spotlight on how officials and politicians function in this state.

"GRIA helped us tremendously to expose the dubious games of politicians. Circumstantial evidence was very strong from the documents,' argues M K Jos. He is perhaps Goa's most experienced user of the law, and was at the forefront of the Meta Strips case. He found file notes in official records that showed a high-powered Coordination Committee had given its approval to the project within 72 hours. He is critical of the role played by former industry minister Luizinho Faleiro.

Later, GRIA inspections and applications were handled by the Goa state pollution control board, the department of industries, the special land acquisition officer, and the chief inspector of factories and boilers. These were circulated through a newsletter brought out by Jos, called Goa Scene . Jos argues that politicians are keen to promote industrialisation.

"If this law had been there earlier, we would have benefited from a number of campaigns. In the Konkan Railway case, we had a tough time in getting information,' says Jos. He feels the loopholes need to be plugged in the law.

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