GOA CURRENT : When Youth Voices gave Strength & Hope to Goa

GOA CURRENT | IS GOA’S GEN Z READY TO SPEAK UP? Enough is Enough has been raising questions about Goa’s land, planning, environment and governance. But at its Youth Connect meeting, the focus shifted to a generation that will ultimately live with the consequences of the decisions being taken today. Young Goans came together to speak — about development, destruction of agricultural land, infrastructure, garbage, political participation and what several described as a growing disconnect between Goa’s youth and those who govern them. Justice Ferdino Rebello used the meeting to connect some of Goa’s biggest ongoing battles directly with Gen Z. He began with the offshore casinos in the Mandovi. Rebello argued that under his interpretation of the Public Gambling Act, the Mandovi does not constitute Goa’s territorial waters and questioned how the casinos can continue operating there. He also raised questions about casino entry permits and said Enough is Enough has sought information under the RTI Act from the Gaming Commissioner. But the larger discussion was about Goa’s land. Rebello explained his opposition to Section 39A of the Town and Country Planning Act, contrasting piecemeal zoning changes with comprehensive regional planning involving panchayats, urban bodies and citizens. His question to the young audience was fundamental: who decides what happens to Goa’s land — and what Goa will eventually be left for them? Karapur became his example. Referring to the Lodha development, Rebello asked how ordinary Goan families could afford a 150-square-metre plot priced at around ₹75 lakh, or homes costing ₹5 crore to ₹6 crore. He then raised the carrying-capacity question: can villages sustain large developments without adequate water, electricity, sewage infrastructure and protection of groundwater? But some of the strongest voices came from the young people themselves. They spoke about sustainable development, environmental destruction, political disengagement and the belief that youth are often dismissed as distracted or uninformed. They challenged that perception and argued that young Goans want to participate in determining Goa’s future. Rebello ended by appealing for mobilisation around the Goa Protection of Agricultural Lands Bill, 2026, drafted by him and Enough is Enough and subsequently taken up by Opposition MLAs as a private members’ Bill. The numbers at this meeting may have been modest. But its message was not. Goa’s Gen Z is watching, questioning and asking to be heard. And ultimately, the argument is about something very simple: what kind of Goa will this generation inherit?