The
environmentalists might have more important issues to pay attention to on a
global scale, but the second-home ownership issue is the hidden giant that is being unjustifiably ignored (Müller
& Hoogendoorn, 2013). Second homes are
of many types and it is important to distinguish them in order to understand
which ones cause higher environmental and social problems. The real evils are
the ones used especially for the purpose of recreation and luxury, such as
vacation homes and weekend homes. Owning
of such second-homes is a continuation of a colonial way of being and operating,
where there is a hierarchical interaction with people and a misappropriation of
limited resources, given the size of Goa, with no stakes in the future of Goa.
The
menace of second-homes is on the rise in Goa because Goa is treated as a
pleasure periphery. Sociologist Anthony King (1980) argues that the
capitalist economy produces not only a surplus of wealth, but also, for a
sizeable minority, a surplus of time.
King claims that the motives of owning vacation homes include seeking
compensation for city living, understood as escaping from perceived
overcrowding, noise, traffic congestion, air pollution, and the pressures of
city life. Goa enjoys scenic settings, with world famous beaches, ‘green’
landscapes, as well as its Europeanised culture, which makes it a cosmopolitan
destination for elite Indians. Many who invest here are looking for a ‘getaway’,
to ‘have a good time’, rather than to merely invest their money in real-estate.
Premium property promoters, such as Saffronart, proffer the leisure
incentive as the main incentive for buying a property in Goa. “Here’s one
purely fun situation where buying a [second] home clearly trumps renting one”,
writes R. Rashmi (2014) in an article
on the Saffronart’s online
portal. Her strongest argument to buy a home
in Goa is because now the owners of this new property can “think nights of
shenanigans with friends—pool parties, booze, loud music, dancing into the wee
hours of the morning… is mainly possible when you buy a home [in Goa]”. Real-estate
promoters like Saffronart seem to
goad their clients, the elites in Indian metropolises into not just buying a
second-home in Goa, but also buying into a certain lifestyle. The implications
of these lifestyles on locals are severe especially the unaffordability to get
basic housing. Clearly, the focus of the
tourists who once came to Goa for its sights
has moved on to the ownership of sites (Trichur, 2013), in the form of
real-estate properties.
An
article on www.moneycontrol.com, a website which claims to be India’s number
one financial portal, states
that “majority of real estate investments [in Goa] come from Delhi and Mumbai
as people from these states, who once used Goa as holiday destination, are now
buying their own cottage, villa or luxury house in the enchanting Goa”. In
another article on Guide to Buying
Properties in Goa, Dhruv Bharua writes
that “in terms of property prices, North Goa gives the investor better returns
on his investments”. Not surprisingly, this article is featured in The Holiday Home Times, an online
magazine in India that claims to be a “trusted guide for second homes
investors”. The decision of buying a second home in Goa is made easier as the
real-estate prices are comparatively lower than those in large Indian
metropolises. Improved mobility from the Indian metros to Goa, be it in terms
of faster highways, train connections, and cheaper air connections have made
this place into a weekend ‘getaway’ for the urban Indian elites.
The
steering committee for the Regional Plan Goa 2021, headed by the late architect
Charles Correa, did identify second-homes as a problem and proposed to tax them.
But would mere taxation resolve the issue? The British government has increased taxation on
second-homes, but as Clive Aslet, a second-home owner
argues, such moves are not going to
solve the basic housing issues of the poor because the problem of housing is a
structural one. Apparently, the British Government is not doing enough to
supply homes for first time owners, and methods like taxation of second-home
owners are actually a deflection from the real issues of housing. Moreover,
since the rich anyway invest in vacation second-homes for luxury, taxes would
not deter them.
Switzerland
is another place that inordinately suffers the menace of second-home buyers,
essentially, elites from urban areas who occasionally want to live with
‘nature’. Not surprisingly therefore, on 11 March 2012, in a popular vote, the
Swiss population approved an initiative proposed by ecologist Franz Weber
calling for a halt on the construction of new second homes in districts where
such homes already exceeded a threshold of 20% of total housing stock (Schuler & Dessemontet,
2013). A
similar initiative needs to be taken up in Goa, for which the first step would
be a detailed survey and building utilization mapping of luxury weekend homes.
After
all, the tourist who buy second-homes in Goa are not here to settle. They are
here to consume Goa and move on to greener pastures when the going is not good
and the green is gone. Their primary residence continues to be the Indian
Metropolises from which they control this territory. As R. Benedito Ferrao
has argued, Goa has now become a colony of a post-colony, literally, as its
land and prime real-estate is controlled by the elites from Indian metros.
