An industry that laid the foundation for Goa’s largest slum

Zuarinagar, once a barren plateau, has undergone a dramatic transformation into a densely populated slum. What was originally temporary shelters for workers have now turned into houses for 17,000-18,000 people from various states

Around the early 1970s, the Zuari Agrochemical unit by the industrialist family, Birla, became operational in Goa atop the plateau now known as Zuarinagar.

Industrial activity spurred the need for labour, and the early settlement on the then-desolate plateau has over the years grown into a sprawling slum.An estimated population of 17,000 to 18,000 resides primarily in matchbox-type, haphazard constructions on approximately 80,000 sqm of mostly comunidade land, as well as 30,000 sqm of private plots.

“The slum hasn’t stopped growing. Only 500 to 600 of the houses there are of the original labourers who came there, mostly from Karnataka.

Today there are settlers from Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and all other parts of India. When Zuari industries brought labour to Goa, they failed to provide them with decent accommodation. They had only created housing for their officials. The labourers gradually began occupying comunidade land,” said Ramakant Borkar, former long-time sarpanch of the Sancoale panchayat, under whose jurisdiction the slum falls.Slow action from comunidade and panchayat officials initially helped the slum expand.

There was no looking back once the settlers received voting rights.

“They have voting rights in Goa as well as Karnataka. Politicians send buses for the slum dwellers during the Karnataka elections. Even H D Deve Gowda has campaigned here for Karnataka polls. People are still constructing houses in the slum. Most are 50 sqm units with three floors. Many rent these houses fueling the migration,” said Borkar.It is a well-known fact that during the construction of the NH 17-B, a large part of the slum area was to be acquired, but the highway alignment was changed to save the slum based on pleas of its dwellers.

A plan to rehabilitate the residents under Alina Saldanha as the MLA also did not materialise due to alleged pressure from the Zuarinagar slum residents.Only recently, local MLA and minister Mauvin Godinho pushed for empowered house numbers (EHN) for the structures and residents began paying house tax. But despite collection in force by the panchayat, the garbage tax plan was opposed by residents.Today, the large dumps of garbage and open defecation point to poor living conditions.“Barely 20% of the houses are legal. When EHN was introduced, 40% did not take it, because they feared it would prove their houses were illegal until then. Not every house can have an attached toilet due to the small size. Around 20% still defecate in the open. There are 20 common toilets constructed by govt for a population of 17,000 to 18,000,” said a local.

The need for labour for loading and unloading vegetables and fish and other work in Vasco has ensured the slum grows at a steady pace, said resident Kariya Yadav.“How can we be uprooted from here in the name of rehabilitation? My father had come here as a worker. Me and my brothers were born and brought up here. Our entire families grew up here. There are three schools, Balrath facilities, road, power and water supply. Everything we need is here,” said Yadav.Borkar said that despite a high court order to vacate slums from the 30,000 sqm of private land, it has not been enforced after resident women threatened the demolition squad with self-immolation.“In case of the comunidade land, the comunidade only issues notices over the years. Panchayat and comunidade push the blame on one another. By the time it is time for action, the comunidade committee or panchayat changes hands and the same circle continues,” said Borkar.